Of Monsters, Magic and Miracles
by FanFictionist1
Summary: A third doctor makes all the difference on the planet Ryushi when Machiko Noguchi becomes the new overseer for the settlers there. Will Dachande live this time thanks to the third? Will Machiko's fate have a different ending now? Or maybe, is this all happening because of the magic caused by a dramatic and bored Witch?
1. (Part1) In Which an Explanation is Given

Of Monsters, Magic and Miracles (Part 1) Explanation.

Part 1 of this fanfiction will be taking place in Steve Perry's Aliens vs. Predator novel, Prey. In his novel, Machiko Noguchi and Dachande fight the Xenomorphs together, forming an alliance in order to survive. Dachande sadly dies at the end due to broken ribs possibly puncturing his lungs. As his last act before dying, he marks Noguchi with the symbol of his clan and replays the audio track of the words she said to him while in the Lector moment before.  
This ends his book.

But what if there was a third doctor there to help?

In this fanfiction, Machiko is introduced to Helena Smith, the third doctor on Ryushi who takes house calls and visits all of the farming settlements instead of working with the other doctors at the main base. Because of this, she has settled down in an area not inhabited by the others, but resides in the center between all the settlements. This gives her an easier time getting to all the places she needs to be.

Now where she needs to be is by Noguchi's side in order to win this hopeless battle.

* * *

Dachande, meanwhile is plagued by memories of a creature who has tormented his kind for so long that the being can never be called a myth. Not only is this being not of their race, but it seems to be not of their reality either. This being also doubles as a witch!

No one knows why this creature has chosen to use its magic to cause chaos for the yautja. No one knows how to appease it or to kill it. But Dachande met it once, and hopes to never meet it again.

Sadly, fate does not seem to be in his favor. Especially when this being seems to be in control of fate itself.

What could go wrong on this hunt? Everything!

* * *

****(First Chapter coming soon. This story will also be posted onto Wattpad under the same title.)****


	2. Chapter1 In Which Introductions are Made

Machiko Noguchi was many things.  
The official Overseer for the planet Ryushi. A pretty Japanese woman with an average height. Even a trainee in some of the martial arts.

But the one thing she wasn't was social.

Hence why she was dubbed the Ice Queen in nearly every place she would come across. Here on Ryushi was no different. It wasn't that she hated people. It was just that she had a hard time connecting. Machiko liked to keep a professional appearance and the daily interactions that most normal people would have were a little too casual and energy draining for her. Keeping up a professional appearance was hard enough. Trying to muster up enough motivation to be consistently cheerful for others was near downright impossible.

Her mother suggested that she might have depression once, but Machiko brushed that suggestion off as she only had these feelings with other people and not with everything else.  
She was just introverted.

Sadly, it seemed as if she was going to have to force herself out of her comfort zone here.

The previous Overseer for this planet, Hiroki Shimura, waited for Noguchi by the doors leading out to the rest of the world. Noguchi was hesitant to go, but knew she needed to go meet the farmers and other staff in the area. With reluctant steps, Noguchi followed Hiroki out to the stationed flyers. He quickly showed her how to work one and then took off while she followed behind. It was bumpy at first, but then her handling of the hovering craft became smoother as they sailed over rocky plain.

The planet's twin suns beat upon their backs as they made their first visits.

Her introduction to Ackland was rocky at best, down right terrible at worst. The lead farmer had no trust or respect for her, and she held him in no higher regards than she would a dead mouse. Despite what Hiroki said, she would definitely not be going out of her way to make friends with that one, ever!

Thankfully, the other introductions were smoother than that. Some did give her suspicious looks, but none gave her any outright contempt like Ackland had. Even the cheeriness some had was a refreshing feeling from her usual loneliness. Even she could appreciate socializing on occasion.

Finally, it was time to meet the Revnas. A married couple who were also the planet's doctors and lead scientists.

Machiko parked her flyer next to Hiroki's and they both went into the designated lab together. The first thing that drew their attention were the man and woman leaning over a table together and taking turns looking through a microscope. Both had fascinated grins on their faces and didn't seem to notice the entrance of the two overseers.  
Hiroki, who was used to seeing their enthusiastic faces, gave a genuine smile as he cleared his throat. The woman looked up, but the man was still engrossed with the microscope finding. "Hiroki!" She exclaimed with a smile, now drawing the second man's attention. "What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting you here until noon." She greeted him with a small hug and a casual handshake. Hiroki chuckled at her and then gestured to Noguchi. "Just showing the new overseer what she'll have to work with when I'm gone." He said before turning back to Noguchi. "Machiko." He called her by her first name, much to her delight. "This is Doctor Miriam Revna. And this is her husband, doctor Kesar Revna."

Machiko gave them small, awkward smiles as she shook hands with them. "Hello." She greeted. "I am Machiko Noguchi."

Miriam gave her a warm smile as she nudged her husband playfully. "We were wondering when we'd get to meet you." She said. "After the first five months, we were beginning to think that the new overseer talk was just a bunch of rumors." Machiko's grin turned a bit sheepish, but she decided that she did like Mariam. At least for small conversation. "Sorry." Machiko apologized. "I'm afraid that was carelessness on my part. Getting used to a new world and new people took a lot out of me." Behind the doctor pair, Hiroki rolled his eyes and Machiko wanted to glare at him for it. Instead, she turned to the doctors. "I'm meeting everyone today instead."

Kesar finally spoke up for once. "You weren't sick, were you?" He asked, tone full of genuine concern.

Machiko shook her head. "No, no, not physically anyway. Maybe a little homesick." She tried for a joke, but the couple gave her empathetic smiles instead. "We've all been there." Miriam said. "Well, at least all of the adults here have. Thanks to Helena and us, we've managed to successfully deliver some babies into this world as well. So to the young ones, this is their home." She sent her husband a special grin as if sharing a secret with him. Machiko rose an eyebrow at them. "Helena? Did you name this lab that?" She asked curiously.

Kesar shook his head. "No, Helena is the third doctor that works with us. She's not here right now, but you'll meet her eventually. She does house calls to the other settlements, so you won't see her much." He quickly explained. "But she drops by the lab every now and then to say hi and share her findings."

"Sounds like a fun job." Machiko said, though she swept the information on this third doctor aside. '_I'll meet her eventually._' She thought.

"So-" Machiko went on. "What were you looking at over there?" Miriam clapped her hands with an excited grin as soon as Noguchi said that. '_Oh no, what did I get myself into?_' Machiko thought before Miriam and Kesar pressed on.  
"It's the strangest thing." Kesar said. "A creature that we haven't discovered in the three years we've been here, surprisingly." He led machiko over to look at the table. "See for yourself."

Machiko looked and saw a dead creature that seemed to be a cross between a flesh colored spider and a scorpion lying on the table.

* * *

Helena Smith watched as a squadron of kids played kickball in a nearby dried up gorge.

The kids had made a crude diamond shaped field with nearby sticks they found. Drawing with the sticks caused the diamond to be misshapen, especially on the last stretch between the two final bases. The kids never bothered to fix it, and they never let the fact that all the sides of the diamond were uneven cause a foul in gameplay.

Helena was just being the referee at the moment for them.

No other adults were around, and Helena knew that these kids had a particular habit of sneaking off to play games like this whenever they could. She positioned herself as the unofficial chaperone for them and they played by her home often because of it. Their parents didn't mind either since she secretly sent them all messages in the past explaining what their kids were doing. As long as one adult was watching over their kids, they were fine with it. They knew Helena would keep them safe from the natural dangers in the gorges.

And safe she did.

Thanks to being a traveling doctor, she always had supplies on hand. Her bandages were often used up from having to patch scraped knees, but every now and then one of them would get a bite from a venomous creature and she would have to treat them for it. The kids quickly learned to respect the wildlife in the gorge and avoid it at all times because of this. That and a scolding from their parents probably scared them more than the creatures did.

"Safe!" Helena shouted out as a kid slid all the way home. The apposing team groaned their complaints, but quickly went back to their positions as they rolled another ball to the current kicker. Helena looked up and saw that the twin suns were beginning to set. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted out.

"Thirty minutes then it's time to go!" More complaints were sounded, but the kids knew better than to argue with their doctor. She could suggest to their parents that they eat more vegetables, and they currently dreaded that more than anything in life.

Helena had to stifle a laugh at that fact as the kickball game slowly wound down.

As it grew darker, the kids stopped playing and ran to Helena crowding around her feet and peering up at her. "Can we come play tomorrow?" A little girl with pigtails asked. Helena rose an eyebrow at her. "You have school tomorrow." She pointed out. "And plenty of homework from what I've heard." She started to lead the group of rowdy kids up the gorge's walls. A little boy with brilliantly red hair bounced up and over to Helena with the kickball in his hands. "But can we come after homework?" He asked eagerly. Helena had to grin at him. "You'll have to ask your parents." She said, though she knew they'd just sneak out if they wanted to.

When they reached the top, her house came into view a couple of yards away and the kids ran over to it.

They had parked their own small flyers next to her fence and were getting ready to take off when she stopped them. "You know my rule." She eyed each of them. They gave her sheepish smiles. "We all travel together." One of the smallest kids chimed out. Helena nodded and pointed at her own flyer. "Wait a moment and I'll be right with you." She ordered and then jogged over to her flyer that was lying inert on the ground. Starting it up, she watched it levitate partially sideways for a moment before it's gravitational reader straightened the thing up and floated steadily above the ground.

Helena stepped on the board and fiddled with the handles a moment before turning it about and zooming out to the kids. "Ready?" She called.

The kids all nodded and Helena turned with the flyer and led the way back to the other farming settlements with the kids in tow.

* * *

"You awake Cluck?" Helena called out as she entered her home once more.

Her pet chicken squawked from the front room that also doubled as her makeshift greenhouse. Helena trudged in and kicked off her boots before going to the kitchen and setting a pan of water on the stove. Turning it on to high, she made her way back to the front room and looked inside.

Ever since moving to this planet, Helena had been determined to bring some of earth's life with her.

She had brought plenty of seeds and grow lights with her on her journey to Ryushi. She also brought a chicken along for the ride. Fresh eggs every day plus fertilizer for the plants helped Cluck earn her stay in Helena's home and out of the heat that was a constant presence on this planet. Cluck had earned a permanent residence in her front room after having made a nest among her plants in the middle of the night during a previous year. Helena took precautions to make sure Cluck couldn't travel through the rest of the house by installing a plastic-flap screen door to the entrance of the room. Cluck would have to be really determined to push the heavy curtains aside if she wanted to get out of that room on her own.

In all reality, her growing foreign plants on a new planet technically wasn't protocol with the Chigusa Corps. agricultural views. She had argued that letting sentient foreign life (humans) on this planet wouldn't be protocol either if they were worried about the balance of the planet's natural progression of life forms.

So they let her keep her plants and her chicken, much to her delight.

Athena plopped down on her kitchen table and checked her messages on her voicemail while she waited for her water to boil. Several messages about needing to check up on various people in the settlements. A few about on coming weather reports. And one about the new overseer.

Helena squinted as she listened to it carefully.

The new overseer hadn't come out of her hovel in months! Six to be exact. Helena had suspected that the newcomer had come down with something and was being treated by Miriam and Kesar back at the main base. Now the newcomer was making rounds with Hiroki to visit the residents.  
Helena smiled at this. She was eager to meet the new person in charge. Hiroki had helped her form her argument for bringing her plants here, and in general was a friendly guy to the locals. She wondered how the new overseer would handle filling his shoes when he would leave.

"Guess I better go meet her." Helena said out loud before looking at her calendar and groaning. "I gotta do check ups first." She muttered before digging in her fridge for vegetables. "Dinner first and then house visits." She mumbled as she grabbed some eggs as well and got to work.

Several thousands of miles in the sky, what appeared to be a shooting star zoomed just over Helena's house and carried on its business with an unchanging path.

Helena felt a chill flow up her spine as it passed by.

* * *

**Yeyinde** looked at the screen-plate that showed him what the electronic eyes monitored.

An image of the **Kiande Amedha** queen appeared on the plate, shackled and restrained with the finest woven chains their kind had ever created. A capture that he could proudly claim he had a hand in.

Yeyinde was the leader of their clan and a teacher to the unblooded. Though his real name was Yeyinde, he knew the unblooded and blooded alike on this ship called him **Dachande** behind his back. Dachande meaning "different knife". The nickname was given on the account of him having broken the tusk on his lower left mandible in a bare-handed fight against a _kiande amedha_ drone. Obviously he won, and was the only yautja ever to have walked away from a fight like that. If it were any other circumstance, Yeyinde would have taken offense to the nickname. Instead, he was proud of it, as he knew the name was always spoken with reverence for his tusk and deed.

As their designated hunting planet came into view, Yeyinde let himself become excited for the upcoming hunt.

As the leader for these blooding hunts, it wasn't graceful for himself to show excitement for a trivial but needed affair. This hunt was purely for the unblooded to prove themselves at least capable of decent skills. There was no true honor for the leader in these hunts except for in his student's success. If his students achieved their hunts, then part of the glory went to him for training them. That was all.  
But Yeyinde was still excited. Facing the _Kiande Amedha_, no matter what position you were in, was always thrilling. To hunt them was honorable and stimulating no matter the circumstances.

But for some reason. . .this one felt oddly different.

Yeyinde didn't know why. The air just felt more. . .charged, than usual. He could just pass it off as the excitement from the training yautja on the ship, but he'd be fooling himself. Their excitement was no different from hunts in the past and he knew it. Their enthusiasm never affected him this much.

Then what was it?

An old scar on the back of his arm and the base of his broken tusk suddenly throbbed in phantom pain and a vivid memory came to mind.  
At one point long ago, he had met a creature that he hoped never to meet again. This creature was the reason he had to fight the _kiande amedha_ bare handed. This creature was a bane to the yautja race, as it constantly went out of its way to cause mayhem amongst their kind. Not only did it have an odd appearance that wasn't even remotely close to theirs or any species like them, it had. . .abilities. . .that made it seemingly impossible to beat.

Though he loathed to think of it, the creature possessed abilities that his entire race refused to acknowledge the true name of it. . .magic.

Magic was looked upon with severe suspicion and distrust to the point of refusing to give credit to its existence. The very idea of it was blasphemous. The thought of any creature wielding it other than a God was frightening. The thought of any creature being able to do deeds only on par with a God was unthinkable.

And yet this creature existed and his race had no choice but to acknowledge its existence. It gave them no options otherwise.

It seemed to decide randomly who its next victims would be. The creature appeared to anyone, no matter their status or destiny. She had appeared to him, he who was a prominent clan leader, and she has appeared to the lowest of their ranks, the **Eta**. Each interaction never seemed consistent with her intentions. Most of the time, she'd cast her curses that would cause nothing but problems for them. On occasion, she'd do an act that would seemingly help them instead. One story claimed that she had cured an Eta of his mental irregularity. There seemed to be no reason behind this, as that Eta lived on to have a fulfilling life and an honorable death afterwards. No problems came from her healing him, which was unlike her to do.

No one of his race could comprehend her methods and reasonings. And because of that, they all feared her.  
Yeyinde, or Dachande shivered unwillingly.  
He severely hoped, or more accurately prayed, that she'd have no more interactions with him than she'd already had. He hoped that she'd never make an appearance in his life again.

Sadly, he had a feeling that it was hopeless thinking on his part.

* * *

Machiko and the Revnas were bent over the microscope when they heard a door open behind them.

The group turned and saw the newcomer walk in like she belonged there. Machiko didn't recognize her, but the Revnas and Hiroki did. "Helena!" Miriam exclaimed with a smile. The group went over to greet the woman while Noguchi stood stunned at the woman's appearance.  
This Helena woman's most noticeable feature was her height! She stood slightly over seven feet tall and had no heels on to create this illusion. Machiko noticed as well with some jealousy the woman's prominent bust and hips, but she quickly brushed it aside. Beauty didn't matter to her (much) and she wasn't going to let pettiness ruin the already fragile relationships she had with these residents.

With the familiar awkwardness that came with being the outsider in a group, Machiko waited behind Kesar and Mariam to be introduced.

Mariam was full of laughs and life when she saw Helena. "And here I was thinking we wouldn't see you for another month!" She chided. Helena let out a laugh that was rich and deep before pulling Mariam into a one armed hug. "Well, I do have patient check ups that I have to feed into the database here." She replied. "That and I heard the new overseer was out doing visits today." Helena looked up and spotted Machiko standing awkwardly behind the group. She gave the woman a warm smile, hoping to ease her out of her discomfort. "And I am guessing you're her?"

Machiko nodded and stepped forward, holding a hand out for a prompt shake. "I am Machiko Noguchi." She declared, a professional air about her. "And yes, I am the new overseer. Soon to be, anyway." Helena felt her lips pull into a smile as she shook Machiko's hand. "I'm Helena Smith." She replied. "The third doctor here, but you won't see me around the lab here much." She let go of Machiko's hand and stood up. "Have your medical records been put into the database yet?" She asked.  
Machiko shook her head and Helena tsked. "That'll have to change soon." She said, but then shrugged. "Oh well, that's an easy fix. What about your interactions with the farmers? Have you met them?"

Machiko got the impression that Helena was kind of like a motherly figure around here. She didn't know if she liked that just yet.

"Yes." Machiko replied to her question. Helena pressed on when Noguchi made no move to. "And how did they treat you?" She asked. This time Hiroki piped up before she could reply. "Ackland gave her some trouble, but the others were receptive at least." He explained. Helena rolled her eyes. "Did Ackland give you crap about the pricing on their rhynth herds?" Machiko nodded again. "Though I did promise to talk to corporate about that." She declared. Helena rolled her eyes again. "Oh, you could raise their cut to a hundred percent of the profits and Ackland would still complain about it. Don't get too offended if he rants about you behind your back Ms. Noguchi. He'll throw insults at anyone who doesn't give him what he wants."

Machiko decided that she **did** in fact like Helena.

Helena looked at her wrist watch again and inhaled a breath. "I better run. One last check up for the night and I'm nearly late." Kesar patted her on the back and opened the lab door for her. "You be safe out there." He said. "We found something strange and don't know if it's good or bad."  
Helena rose an eyebrow at him as she slipped her shoes back on. "I'll have to read your report about it later then." She declared before waving at them all. "I'll see you all later. It was nice meeting you Noguchi!" She gave the new overseer a warm smile before taking her leave.

Machiko decided that she liked Helena very much.

* * *

When the pull of fate calls for your attention, you heed its call.

This was the philosophy The Witch lived by whenever she did what she did. When you had the ability to see the future and change it at your will, you had no choice but to respect fate and destiny. She was tied to the very fabric of the universe like Atoms were to matter.

And right now, that tie was telling her that her long awaited new found drama was about to begin.

Smiling sinisterly from her pocket dimension home that was buried somewhere in reality, The Witch sat up in her webbing bed and slinked to her scrying bowl. Peering in, she muttered under her breath the necessary spells to see whom and what she wanted to see. The opaque liquid in the bowl seemed to hum for a moment before swirling around the bowl in a dazzling whirlpool and then coming to an abrupt stop when it seemed that the swirling would climax. A photographic image of a female homo sapien appeared on the liquid before it quickly changed to a second one. Then three other faces appeared, all the same species. They called themselves Yautja, but The Witch called them something else. . .**stubborn**.  
These three in particular were ones that she had interacted with before on varying levels. Two she met in their dreams, and one she had set up so his face would be damaged and scarred enough to be distinguishable to the homo sapiens.

The Witch smiled as a very thrilling story was about to begin before her.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Yeyinde**: Brave One

-**Dachande**: Different Knife

-**Kiande Amedha**: Hard meat/ xenomorphs

-**Eta**: Yautja born with disabilities that would render them unable to function normally in their society. They are unable to go on hunts, and are therefore reduced to slaves for the rest of their kind.

_And the first official chapter for this story is up! If you have any questions about it, I will answer them the best I can (unless they're potential spoilers)._

_I hope you all enjoyed and let me know what you think in the comments below._


	3. Chapter2 In Which Everything Goes Wrong

"Yeyinde!"

The elder predator let out a low, guttural groan as his name was called. He had taken a quick nap in his room and woke up to the sounds of another yautja pounding on his door. Having your own room was a privilege, but being the leader almost rendered it useless. Normally you'd be a fool to disturb a blooded warrior in their time of privacy, but sadly his job required other persons to disturb him when needed.

Dachande growled as he went and answered the door. The sliding metal panels opened up to reveal a young welp who was trying his hardest to seem unintimidated by Dachande, but was failing poorly. What was his name again?

"Yeyinde-" The boy clicked out, but his clicks were too high in pitch range. He was scared. "We are about to land. The others await you in the ****kehrite****."

Dachande let the unblooded welp stay a bit longer to prolong the suspense. Finally, he inclined his head at him. "Tell ****Skemte**** and ****Warkha**** that I will be there soon." Dachande dismissed him with a wave of a mandible. The welp bowed his head respectfully and scampered off down the hall.

Dachande rolled his shoulders back and popped his joints before venturing out into the hall.

He knew the students had been waiting for him in the _kehrite_. They didn't go anywhere else on the ship at all that day because of the anticipation. All that waiting was bound to have them riled up and willing to draw ****thwei ****at the first signs of aggression, intentional or not. But they would not start a fight without him present to witness it. Him being the leader gave him that privilege. No fighting without the leader's judgement. If any fighting did occur outside of his awareness, the offenders would be swiftly punished. He could withdraw them from the hunt if he chose to. This would set their progress back by another year, much to their misfortune.

Dachande could smell the pungent ****h'dui'se**** of excitement before he had even entered the room.

All of the unblooded were standing around, keeping to themselves. Earlier that morning, they had been in groups. They had laughed and boasted of themselves all through their morning meal. Now the energy had become so thick that they wouldn't even risk bumping shoulders with each other. They knew the price they would pay if a fight broke out. None of them wanted their progress to be impeded just because some one got too anxious.

Dachande looked over and spotted Skemte and Warkha eyeing him underneath begrudgingly respectful head bows.

They were the only other two blooded on the ship, and Dachande knew they wanted his position as leader. They wouldn't dare challenge him, but they were on the lookout for possible mess-ups that they could benefit from.  
Still, they did their jobs and listened well regardless.

Dachande looked at the weapons and ****'awu'asa**** that Skemte and Warkha had laid out on the table for the students. Nodding his head in approval, he turned towards the students who were lined up against the wall, eagerly awaiting for his signal.

Fighting to hide his smirk, Dachande gave a gesture towards the table. The students ran for it.

Dachande watched for a moment as the young ones fought over the better tools. The stronger ones would naturally get the best, but the weaker ones still always tried to claim them. There was always a fight over equipment. Now that Dachande was here, they were allowed to show their aggression.

"Yeyinde." Skemte called his name. "We land in a half day." He clicked.

Dachande nodded at this and turned back towards the students who had finished grappling over the best pieces of armor and weapons. Dachande locked his hands together in a clap. "Time to spar." He clicked. "You'll need to get used to moving in your armor."

The unblooded grew eager at this news and instantly began to look at each other to evaluate who would be the best challenge.

Dachande let them wonder as he began to call out names.

* * *

"Kesar, you can't!" Miriam exclaimed. "The Rhynth herds are about to be sent off, you'd be going alone while everyone is at the party."

Kesar leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek, though it was clear in his eyes that he wasn't totally focused on her. "I'll be fine." He insisted. Miriam scowled at him. "Iwa gorge is not an easy place to navigate." She insisted. "It's not safe to go on your own!" Kesar pulled his wife into a hug and smiled at her. "Miriam, this could be a wonderful discovery! Roth found these little guys-" He pointed at the weird specimen on the table."-at Iwa gorge and so I want to look. This could make us famous, Miriam!" Miriam's scowl deepened and she folded her arms in front of her chest in a huff. "Is being famous worth your life?" She snapped, accidentally showing her irritation.

Now Kesar frowned and hugged his wife closer, despite her stiff posture. "Honey, I promise I'll be safe. I'll bring gloves and a net."

Miriam looked over at the dead creature on the table. A cross between a spider and a scorpion that also carried flaccid sacks by its tail and couldn't be cut open with any of their tools. She didn't know if a net was going to help them with this creature, whatever it may be. Reluctantly, she let out a sigh of defeat, knowing her husband would go no matter what she said. "Please. . .please be careful." She begged. "If you go missing, we might not be able to get a team out to find you until it's too late."

Kesar smiled and kissed her cheek again. "I'm always careful!" He bragged.

Miriam wanted to shout at him all of the times he hadn't been careful as he ran out the door.

* * *

Noguchi stood with Hiroki at the top of the transmit tower as the lector came down to land on the designated platform.

The rhynth herds were gathered and nearly everyone that had come to live on this planet were now here to celebrate their three years of hard work. A party was going on down below, but Hiroki had led Noguchi to the top of the tower to show her the spectacular view of the transport shuttle landing down. Hiroki would be leaving on that shuttle, and Noguchi would then be officially taking his title as the overseer of Ryushi. He was getting promoted, much to Noguchi's dismay. She had begun to like Hiroki and didn't expect to see him go so soon.

When the Lector landed, two men were the first to come down once the loading dock had lowered itself.

Noguchi recognized their uniforms as the Lector's pilots and turn to raise an eyebrow at Hiroki. "Ready to greet them?" She asked. "We better." Hiroki said. "Ackland is already trying to get to them." Noguchi looked down and spotted Ackland shoving his way through the people in an attempt to get to the pilots. She let out an irritated sigh, knowing that Ackland was trying to puff himself up to make himself look like the big man of the place.

Hiroki was already climbing down when Noguchi turned to follow him.

They had gotten there just in time to hear the introductions being made. "This is Scot and I'm Tom." One of the pilots said to Ackland. Ackland replied back jovially and offered them both two beers. "I trust you gentleman have had a pleasant trip." He said as they took the beverages. Scott grinned as he began to down the drink while Tom gave a more humble approach. "Tiring, but good." He replied.

Ackland gave a forced smile. "Well now's your time to relax. We've got fresh rhynth steaks on the grill, and plenty of young women who are looking for dance partners, if you know what I mean." Ackland gave them a secretive wink and grin. Tom had to fight to hide his disgust while Scott looked excited. "Name the closest one!" He joked at Ackland.

Noguchi scowled at their behavior, but shook it off. This was a party, and she wanted to enjoy herself tonight.

While Hiroki stepped forward to meet the pilots, Noguchi made her way towards the stage. She had an announcement to make and had to direct the shuttling of the rhynth herds into the lector. When she got on top, she clinked her glass with a spoon and called for everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming." She started off. "First things first, concerning the rhynth herds. They'll be herded on board tomorrow and in this order. Ackland, your herd takes the lead in followed by Harrison and Luccini. Marianetti will bring up the rear and we'll be making the final preparations for send-off after that." Then she cleared her throat and continued on. "On a final note for the night, the company has responded to the rancher's request of a price increase. They have agreed to expand your cut."

Cheers flew up from the crowd as Noguchi climbed off the stage. She spotted Ackland giving her a begrudgingly respectful look, though she could tell that he did not think anymore of her than he did before. Noguchi shrugged it off and kept moving through the crowd with a smile on her face when she quite literally bumped into a very tall woman.

Helena smiled down at Noguchi with two plates held high in her hands. "Hey!" She greeted. "You did a good job up there." Noguchi smiled back at the woman, though found that she had to crane her neck to look up at her. "Thank you." Noguchi replied, though she had to shout to be heard over the noise. Helena motioned with her head towards an area that was not being completely overrun by the dancers and Noguchi followed her there. The music and the noise was quieter here.

"Better?" Helena asked. Noguchi nodded her head. "Much." She agreed. Helena handed her one of the plates she had been carrying and took a seat on the floor, tucking her ridiculously long dress under her. "Better eat before the rest is taken." She said. Noguchi looked down at her plate and found a smoked rhynth steak followed by mashed potatoes and even a side of sushi. Noguchi took a seat next to Helena and speared some potatoes on her fork first. "Thank you." Noguchi said. "I haven't actually tried the rhynth meat before." She took a bite of her potatoes while Helena swallowed her own bite before replying. "The people on Ryushi haven't eaten it much before." She admitted. "With three years of progress going on, they tried not to eat too much of their own herds incase an epidemic broke out. This is a rarity." She took another bite of the steak and chewed while Noguchi rose an eyebrow. "So-" She said. "Was the second plate for someone else or did you see me and decide to grab me a plate as well?" She meant it as a joke, but Helena answered honestly. "I had been planning to take a plate back to the lab for Miriam, but it seemed like you wouldn't have been able to grab one for yourself with everyone vying for your attention back there."

"I'll admit that food was kind of the last thing on my mind." Noguchi admitted. "Though I'm grateful you gave me the plate to remind me of it. Speaking of, why isn't Miriam here?" She asked.

Helena wiped her mouth before answering. "Kesar went out to Iwa gorge to find anymore of the specimens that Roth brought in. She's waiting for him to return." Noguchi rose an eyebrow at this as Helena speared a piece of sushi on her plate and ate it. "Roth brought it in?" She asked. Helena nodded her head, but couldn't answer anymore with a mouthful. Noguchi frowned. "Doesn't Roth work directly under Ackland? His herds aren't anywhere near Iwa gorge." Helena shrugged after she had finally swallowed her food. "Maybe she had gone hiking on her free time?" She suggested. "A lot of people here like to hike in the more dangerous areas of Ryushi. Gives them an adrenaline rush."

Noguchi couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling she was having, but Helena suddenly stood up and stretched. "Well I better get back in there and get Miriam her plate. She'll be starving by now. Poor woman forgets to eat whenever she's working in the lab."

Noguchi nodded and stood up as well. "May I come with you?" Helena smiled at Noguchi and nodded. "It's not like this is a private matter." She pointed out. "Come whenever you'd like."

Noguchi smiled at Helena as the two made their way through the crowd on a quest to get to Miriam.

* * *

Kesar looked through his binoculars one more time as the shock of his discovery started settling in.

He hadn't found anymore of those specimens that Roth had shown him earlier, but he had found something else. Something even better than a weird spider/scorpion mix. He found sentient, humanoid beings that were much taller than him and even wore their own version of clothing!

Kesar was ecstatic about this find! He had been willing to settle for just taking the credit for discovering the previous specimen, but this was better than that on so many levels! A discovery like this would mean fame and fortune beyond his wildest dreams. A discovery like this meant he and his wife would live comfortably for the rest of their lives if they managed to capture and study one of these beings.

Except for one, or several, small details.

They carried weapons. Large weapons. Not the kind you would use for hunting for food, but the kind you would take to a war. Plus it was clear to Kesar that they were wearing armor and stood well over six feet tall. Some he was sure reached seven. They wore masks that hid their true faces from him, but Kesar was imagining something close to human looking underneath.

He didn't realize how wrong he would be.

Suddenly, one of the creatures turned around and seemed to look directly at Kesar. Kesar's heart thumped but he remained calm. He was too far away and was hidden very well. He himself could only see them through the binoculars he was holding.  
He shouldn't have assumed that he was safe. The creature pointed the tip of its spear at him and a horrible screeching cry sounded out from behind its mask. Kesar's heart started to painfully gallop like a horse when others turned and faced his direction.

They could see him!

As soon as Kesar saw them begin to run in his direction, he jumped up and ran in the direction of his flyer.

* * *

Dachande had barely ventured out with his students onto the strange planet when an alarm was called out.

Dachande whipped around along with the rest of the group and spotted what had caused the alarm. A **ooman**! Hiding in the **n'ithya** and spying on them from a distance. By the creature's crouched position, it was clearly stalking them. For what purpose, Dachande didn't know.

**Cjit**! They would have to abandon the hunt.

Dachande chased after the _ooman_ as the other students tried to as well. He barked at them all to get back to the ship as he continued his pursuit. The _ooman_ would have to die and they would have to travel elsewhere for their blooding hunt. This set back would cost them months of preparations and time.  
Dachande internally cursed the _ooman_ and himself because of this.

Meanwhile, Kesar had barely jumped on his flyer when he turned it around and zoomed back out. He'd have to go through them to get out. The quickest way out of here was on the other side of the gorge where those humanoids were. Going back the way he had come was a dead end thanks to this path being a one way slope down. The flyers could easily get down a cliff, but going up one was near impossible.

As his flyer flew over the ledge he had been perched on, one of those humanoids jumped out and grabbed the edge of his flyer. The sudden weight gain and uneven distribution of it flung his flyer off course and had him zooming towards the cliff wall. The flyer smacked against the wall, consequently getting the creature's head crushed in the process. The humanoid fell from the bike in a dead heap as the sudden loss of weight veered the flyer again.

Kesar looked at the steering controls and cursed. The crash had broken some of them.

When Dachande saw one of his students get killed, he screamed his rage. Then a new fear overtook him as he realized the _ooman_ was flying its transport directly at their ship. At the speed of which it was going and the size of the machine, it would cause an explosion large enough to level the ship!

Dachande changed course and ran harder after the _ooman_. Most of the students were clear, but if that explosion went off right now-

In the next few seconds, all Dachande felt was searing heat that even his kind couldn't handle, and then his vision went black.  
Kesar's last thought was of Miriam as the explosion consumed his body.

Everything was on fire.

* * *

"We'll find him Miriam." Helena tried to comfort the worried woman.

It was the day after the party and the rhynth herds had just been loaded into the lector. For some reason, it still hadn't taken off, but no one was really concerned about that right now. Everyone that had gone to the party were now just barely waking up with pounding hangovers. Miriam had staid up all night waiting for Kesar. When Helena had gotten up to go do some work in the lab, she found Miriam with an exhausted but determined expression. After asking Miriam why, she had immediately contacted Noguchi and told her what the problem was. Noguchi had sent out a search team to go check Iwa gorge for Miriam's missing husband.

That was six hours ago.

Noguchi and Hiroki had come down to the lab as well and were standing by themselves, discussing an issue. Specifically about the specimen that was found and who brought it in.

"Miriam-" Noguchi called out. Miriam looked up out of her blank state and focused on Noguchi. "-you said it was Roth who found the. . .the thing on your table?" Noguchi pointed at the dead spider like creature for emphasis. Miriam nodded her head and took a deep breath. "She came in claiming that she found it at Iwa gorge and that Ackland had wanted her to turn it over to us." Noguchi's face turned into a scowl. "Did he now?" She turned to Hiroki and he gave her an equally pissed off scowl. "When they don't work anywhere near Iwa gorge?"

Before either could discuss this further, Helena's watch went off. She looked at the time and sighed. "I have to go." She reached out and squeezed Miriam's hand. "Will you be alright?" She asked. Miriam nodded at her and forced a smile on her face. "Kesar will be back, I know it." Helena gave her a reassuring nod but sent Noguchi a worried look before standing up. "Call me as soon as he returns, or even if you find anything worth while." She instructed.

Miriam nodded and Helena said her goodbyes to the rest before leaving.

After she left, Noguchi stood up as well and Hiroki followed her lead. "We're going to have a talk with Ackland." She told Miriam. "Call me as well if you find anything." Miriam simply nodded at her and went back to staring out the window while Noguchi and Hiroki quietly left. Once outside, Hiroki turned to Noguchi with a raised eyebrow.

"So to Acklands?" Noguchi shook her head and tapped her foot. "No, to Roth first. If Ackland put her up to this, she'll most likely crack and spill. Ackland will lie to save himself, but Roth doesn't owe him anything. Especially if she doesn't want to get in trouble for his mistake." Hiroki nodded his head in approval. "Good point." He said.

Noguchi walked over and hopped on her flyer, waiting for Hiroki to do the same. "Let's just hope Dr. Revna is alright." She said. "If anything has happened to him-" "Ackland will pay the price if he lied." Hiroki interrupted, giving her a supportive look with her decisions.

Noguchi smiled at him, grateful to have his support, and turned the flyer around.

Not thirty minutes after they had left, Miriam found the lab doors being opened by the people who were supposed to be out on patrol looking for her husband. Her heart thumped with hope as she saw them try to walk through the door carrying something large. "Miriam!" A man named David Spanner yelled. "Come quick! There's something we need to show you!" A woman named Ikeda shuffled through the door as well, half bent over and grunting in exertion as she apparently carried the other end of the object. The object was currently hidden from Miriam's view by the lab table, but she quickly rushed around the corner of it with hope beating in her heart.

That hope died in an instant, but instead was replaced with curiosity and a slight sense of excitement.

David Spanner dropped his half of the object on the floor and fell backwards with a thump. He breathed hard as he gestured to the thing. "We found this big guy in Iwa gorge." He declared. Ikeda dropped her end as well and put her hands on her knees as she panted for breath. Miriam stared in shock at the being on the floor.

A humanoid creature with reptilian skin laid before her. It's height was well over 7 feet tall, and it was definitely a male, if the phallic shape between his legs was any indication. Miriam could see that it only had four clawed toes, but his hands had five fingers like a human's.  
But his most impressive feature was his face.  
His forehead was twice the size of her own and was double crested with an impressive crown of ridges starting from his sides and going up until it seemed to stop at the base of his. . .hairline? What should have been hair seemed to be fleshy like tubes that looked like sleek dreadlocks that hung about all the same length at the back of his head. His eyes were closed at the moment, so Miriam couldn't see those, but what appeared to be his mouth also had four almost finger looking mandibles topped with tusks at the ends. Only one of the four of his appeared to have been broken at the base.

Miriam was both fascinated and scared by what she saw. The creature was asleep, but she didn't know if it would be a danger when it woke up.

David gave her a proud grin despite the circumstances. "We think this guy got hit and is now blacked out. He was surrounded by a burning space ship when we got there." Miriam took a cautious step forward towards the being and then another. Finally, she let out a breath and shook herself out of her shock. Looking at David and Ikeda, she gave them both smiles. "Thank you." She said. "If he is indeed passed out, I'll need help moving him onto the table for X-rays." Ikeda immediately stood up from her crouched position. "We'll help." She gave David a withering look as she saw him about to open his mouth and complain. Reluctantly, David got up and helped Ikeda move the creature up and onto one of the tables.

Going over to her computer, Miriam turned on the X-ray equipment and watched as a tiny scanner affixed to the wall moved around by itself and motioned over the humanoid being. As it passed over, Miriam looked back at her computer and watched as a picture of the being's skeletal structure came into view.

To her amazement, their skeletal system was similar as well, except for of course, the face.

As the scanner moved over the being, Miriam looked with a critical eye at any possible damage. And damage there was. The being had four cracked ribs and some contusions in the dorsal region. Thankfully, Miriam didn't see anything that was life threatening at the moment. Though she had to make sure those ribs weren't going to move too much or they might become dangerous if fully broken.

She looked over at David and Ikeda and sent them grateful smiles. "Mind going and telling Noguchi about this?" She asked. "She'll want to know what you've found."

Ikeda stood up and nodded. "I'll go." She volunteered. "David can help you here if you need to move that thing again." "Thank you." Miriam smiled again and looked at David. "We won't need to move him, but I will need to get him strapped down to the table. His ribs are damaged and we need to restrain his movements to keep them from becoming outright broken." David stood up from the ground and walked over to the table with the giant being on it. "Do you just want to use the straps on the sides of the table, or something more heavy duty?" He asked. Miriam shook her head and pointed towards the straps. "No, those will do fine. If this. . .male wakes up, I don't want him to think we're outright holding him prisoner." David nodded and got to work strapping the creature up. Once done, Miriam inclined the table into a slope and got out more equipment. She instructed David to remove the humanoid's armor and weapons while she set up scanners and screens around the table.

David pulled off the creature's gear slowly and frowned at it as he set it on a nearby counter. "Hey." He softly said. Miriam turned and rose an eyebrow at him as David rubbed the back of his neck. "You don't think this thing. . .had anything to do with Kesar going missing. . .do you?" Miriam frowned as soon as he was finished with his sentence. She bit her lip and thought about her answer before replying. "No, I don't think he did." She answered.

In her heart, she knew it was a lie.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**kehrite: **Dojo/training room

-**thwei: **blood

-**h'dui'se: **scent/musk/odor

\- **'awu'asa: **Armor

-**ooman: **human

-**n'ithya: **Earth/land/ground

-**Cjit**: sh**

_For those of you who I'm sure will have questions specifically about the technology that Miriam is using (specifically the X-ray machine), I'm just going to let you know that the Alien vs. Predator book is based in the future. So I'm taking a liberty with their technology and saying that they can now take X-rays without a lot of the other equipment from today that we use._

_If there are any other questions, I will happily answer them in the comments below._


	4. Chapter3 InWhich There's aLot of Running

Roth hid her shaking hand under the table and scratched Creep's ears as the overseers stood over her, glaring.

They were here about the weird bug-creature she had brought to the Revnas two days prior. By the looks on their faces, she had royally screwed up. Big time.  
She sighed as they asked their questions and she finally spoke up. "I am sorry." She declared. "I won't make excuses for my actions, it was irresponsible of me, but I would like to say that Ackland took part in this too."  
Noguchi nodded at her, her glare slightly softening. "We know he did. Though If you tell us exactly what happened, we can make sure the consequences won't be as severe."

Roth bit her lip and then opened her mouth to speak when Ackland called out from a distance.

"Roth! How could you?!" He ran to catch up to them, face sweating and nervous. "Why would you lie to the researchers about your discovery?" He asked the woman.  
Roth suddenly became so angry she could have seen red. She stood up out of her chair and jabbed a finger at Ackland. "How dare you pin the blame on me!" She shouted, jabbing his chest. "****You**** told ****me**** to lie about the creature just so your herds wouldn't face quarantine!" Then she turned and faced Noguchi and Hiroki with an apologetic look on her face. "Ackland offered me a raise if I kept my mouth shut. My fiancé, Cathie, and I needed the money in order to pay for the wedding and upcoming adoption fees. I am sorry I let my greed get the better of me." Then she pointed at Ackland while looking at him. "I quit! I expect my paycheck in the mail by Friday."

Roth then stood up and stormed off. Noguchi and Hiroki let her go.

They turned to Ackland, who was red in the face and clearly embarrassed, but he tried to hold himself up proudly. "I thought a man had the right to be present when he was being prosecuted." He growled. Now Noguchi was mad enough to punch him as well. She pointed at him and glared viciously, reminding Ackland of one of the many reasons she was called Ice Queen.  
"Ackland, shut your mouth. You're in no position to be snarky with me right now!" She snapped. "Thanks to your little stunt, Doctor Revna has gone missing and his wife is in the lab panicking about it! If he turns up dead, you're going to pay for it severely." She threatened him. Ackland looked momentarily shocked before he shook his head and glared. "I didn't know he would go out searching for the things!" He exclaimed, but Machiko's glare just turned colder. "Didn't know, huh? That's funny, considering you had Roth tell them that you found them in a gorge that is several hundreds of miles away from your herds. Almost as if you wanted to make sure they wouldn't come snooping around in case he did go searching!" Machiko grabbed Ackland by the shirt collar and pulled him closer to her face. "You better hope he's not dead." She growled.

Now Hiroki spoke up. "Did you consider the fact, Ackland, that the Lector hasn't taken off ****because**** your herds were infected?" He asked darkly.

Noguchi whirled around and looked at him. "What?!" She exclaimed. Now Hiroki looked apologetic. "I meant to tell you this, but then we got distracted with other matters. Yes, the Lector hasn't taken off yet."

Ackland turned thirty shades paler as Machiko turned and yelled at him.

* * *

Helena listened with worry as her voicemail box went off with new messages that piled up while she was away.

Dr. Revna had sent her a message about a humanoid specimen that they currently had on rest in the lab. While this news was an exciting find, it also meant that Dr. Kesar Revna wasn't back and they had to deal with the foreign alien life form without him. He was specially trained in extraterrestrial science where as she and Meriam focused more on the human science. She'd have to make her way back to the lab immediately for Meriam's safety.

It also meant that there was possibly more of them out there running wild.

As soon as this thought occurred to Helena, she jumped to her feet with a start. The kids! They'll be coming down to the gorge to play games any minute! If more of those alien creatures were out there, then it wasn't safe for the kids to be out here!  
Rushing to the door, she slammed open the wooden structure before dashing outside and running to the edge to peer over.

She had been right. The kids were gathering down below now to play.

Cupping her hands around her mouth, Helena yelled down to the children below. "Hey!" None of the kids looked up at her. They were already making too much noise to hear her. Helena took action immediately and ran down the stair-like sides of the gorge. She had to get them out of there and back to their families! She couldn't watch them right now when Meriam needed help in the lab with the new being in there.

"Hey kids!" She shouted once she reached the bottom. Finally, the group all looked up at her as she waved her arms at them. She came running up to them, panting from the effort. "You need to get out of here, now!" Helena exclaimed.

Michael, a particularly rebellious teenager, frowned at Helena. "**Why?**" He demanded with an attitude.

Helena pointed in the direction of the settlements. "Because there's something important I need to do and I can't watch you right now. Plus it's not safe at the moment." She tried to explain quickly, but Michael wasn't having it. "We can watch them." He gestured to the other teenagers present. Helena scowled at him. "No. Now get up the gorge and go-woah!" Helena jumped forward and tackled Michael to the floor.

Just as she did so, a pitch-black colored creature hurtled over their heads. It landed in the spot that Michael had just been, and it turned around to hiss at them.

The kids immediately started screaming and running up the gorge while some of the teenagers were frozen on the spot and stared at the beast, Helena included.  
It was completely black and looked like it had an exoskeleton. It's head was long and banana shaped, but had rounded ends instead of points. When it hissed, it revealed a second mouth that could snap out like a human tongue could. It's tail ended with a spear shaped tip and Helena had a bad feeling that it served the same purpose as a spear as well.

When it hissed again, Helena turned and waved the rest of the kids off. "Run!" She shouted, and that's when the beast charged.

She felt the wind smack her neck as the thing ran past her and toppled Michael. The kid first screamed in fear and then in pain as the monster shot its second mouth out and punctured his shoulder. Helena screamed as well. "Michael!" She started to run, but it was no use. In three seconds, Michael was dead and the creature was distractedly eating at his still warm body.

Helena turned and ran towards the kids while she could.

* * *

Dachande's body was paralyzed in his sleep, but he could still vaguely hear foreign voices around him.

It was almost like he was underwater. He could hear the sounds, but not enough to turn them into something solid, or even to wake him up fully. He couldn't physically feel anything and his eyes were shut, so everything was dark. His tongue was swollen from being dry in his mouth, but he couldn't feel that either.

Miriam looked at the humanoid body strapped to the table curiously, though she was only half focused on it.

She could tell from the monitor that the being was getting close to rising fully out of unconsciousness. It's heart rate would leap at random and it's eyelids flickered ever so slightly when his heart did. His clawed fingers would twitch as well, but other than that, nothing. Miriam suspected that he'd be fully awake soon. She didn't know if she was fully prepared for it. David had brought up a good point. Was it possible that this thing was responsible for Kesar's dea-disappearance. . .for her husband's disappearance.

Miriam was startled out of her thoughts by the lab door slamming open.

David fell off his stool by the window that he was sitting on to read one of his old magazines. He yelped when he hit the floor. Miriam whirled on the spot, heart thumping in her chest with hope that it was Kesar walking through the door. She didn't notice the heart monitor behind her give a sudden leap followed by sporadic lines, as if the creature had been startled.

"Miriam!" Helena shouted as she barged into the lab. "Are you here-" She stopped as soon as she saw the creature that was strapped to the table.

Miriam sighed as the hope once again died in her chest, but she stood up to meet Helena. Calmly walking over, she reached a hand out and placed it on her friend's shoulder. "Hello to you too." She tried to joke, but she sounded more tired than anything.  
Helena finally closed her gapping mouth and looked down at her coworker with relief. "This isn't the creature I thought it was." She suddenly laughed. "You're safe!"

Now Miriam looked concerned as she guided Helena over to a stool. The woman was acting hysterical!

"Helena, slow down." Miriam said. "What creature? And why wouldn't I be safe?" She asked. Helena took a deep breath and let the air out through her nose. Taking another breath, she looked at Miriam with sad eyes and frowned. "You may want to get Noguchi and Hiroki here. You're all going to want to hear what I have to say."

David hopped up and went to get the overseers right away.

* * *

Noguchi had a head ache.

After raving at Ackland for being a greedy, irresponsible pig, she was immediately called into Miriam's lab to be informed of several discoveries. The first one being the humanoid who was strapped to Miriam's table. The creature easily caught everyone's interest, even Helena's, who hadn't really given it much thought until now.

"It breaths a mixture of methane and other trace elements, including oxygen." Miriam rambled off as she pointed to the breathing apparatus around the creature's mouth. "He's got four cracked ribs, so we have to keep him tied down in order to reduce movement. So far, he hasn't become conscious yet."

When Miriam was finished, she gestured to Helena behind her. "Helena also has some news to share with us." She said.

Noguchi was still in a state of shock about the alien strapped to the table when Helena stood up and nodded. "Yes, I do. . .this thing on the table isn't the only foreign creature here." Then she told her end of the story of how they were attacked by the all-black creature with an exoskeleton. She went into great detail to explain the appearance of it, and the others had no doubt they would recognize it if they ever ran into it as well now.

Helena frowned at the group as she finished her story. "Michael, the Gage family's son, was killed by this creature."

Hiroki swore behind Noguchi and both he and Ackland took off their hats in a sign of respect. Machiko turned pale and Miriam let out a gasp. Helena took her seat again and stared down at the floor. "I came running here as soon as I got the rest of the kids home. I was afraid Miriam had that same creature here in the lab." She pointed to the being on the table. "But it's not the same creature. . .though I have no doubt that the two are connected somehow."

As if their shock couldn't get higher, a crash was heard outside the lab.

Hiroki, Machiko and Ackland immediately ran outside to see what the commotion was. When they returned, they were carrying a boy with them. The kid was covered in cuts and bruises, and had shards of glass sticking out of his skin. Helena recognized him first due to giving this child his check-ups in the past. She looked at Miriam with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "It's Bobby Sheldon!" She exclaimed. Miriam recognized the kid as well and nodded with sadness as they brought the still conscious boy in.

The kid was crying about his parents being killed by monsters. They couldn't get much more out of him, but as soon as the kid saw straight ahead at the creature strapped to the table, he screamed.

"**Monster!**"

* * *

Helena grabbed the warmed mug of milk out of the microwave and poured in some coco powder before handing it over to Miriam who was sitting by the humanoid.

Noguchi had left long ago after the Sheldon boy had been patched up. They took the kid out of the lab, figuring it was probably best not to let him be in close proximity to the alien that he now resented when he woke up. Hiroki and Ackland went as well, and not five minutes ago, both woman got a message telling them how Noguchi had placed Prosperity Wells on a thirty-three hour curfew starting that day. Security were being stationed and walls were being erected to the possible threat from outside.

Miriam took the cup gratefully, but she didn't even sip from it. She was kind of staring off into space and Helena let her do so.

Helena instead brought up a stool and took a seat by the humanoid as well. She took a moment to stare at it's features and put little details into her memory while sipping from her own cup of hot chocolate. Miriam let out a sigh for the fifth time that hour and finally drank from her cup. "He should be waking up soon." She mumbled into her beverage. Helena nodded and leaned back against the second table behind her as she watched the being with a critical eye. "I think he's awake already." She declared. "Look at his eyes."

Miriam did look at the creature's eyes and found that her coworker was right. Although his eyes were closed, his eyeballs were clearly moving underneath the lids, a lot more than earlier. Whenever Helena spoke or Miriam made a noise, the eyes would bulge in their directions, as if trying to pinpoint their location without trying to actually see them.

Miriam frowned. "It seems he is." She confirmed.

Helena took one final sip before setting her cup aside and standing up. "You said his ribs were broken?" She asked. Miriam nodded, though she gave Helena a suspicious look. "Yes. . .on his right side." Her eyes widened when Helena reached out to touch the alien's face. "Then let's make sure he knows so he doesn't freak out." Helena suddenly touched the side of the being's face where a human cheek would be, and the creature's eyes flew open and stared at her.

He immediately let out an ear shattering roar and started struggling against his restraints.

Miriam's heart went into over-drive and she rapidly stood up from her stool, knocking it over in the process. Her instincts told her to run, but she was too fascinated with the scene before her to move.  
Helena, on the other hand, was trying to get the alien to calm down. "Sshh, sshh, it's alright! You're safe- oh screw it." She exclaimed when she realized her attempts weren't working. She darted her hands out and immediately grabbed hold of the sides of his face in a gentle caress, despite his outstretched mandibles in the way.

Dachande was so shocked by her sudden hold on him that he momentarily froze and just stared at her. As soon as he stopped moving, the** ooman** took her hands off of him and then pointed at his face. Then she gestured to herself, specifically her torso sides, and then back to him. He couldn't tell what she was trying to sign to him until she made a snapping motion with her hands, like she had broken a twig in two. Then she pointed at him again and then to her side once more.

Something was broken. . .something on **him** was broken?! Was that was she was trying to get across?

To test this out, Dachande forcibly moved his side with a hard jerk and immediately regretted it. A sharp click of pain left his mandibles and he had to clench his teeth together until the pain subsided. Once he could finally breath again, he peaked his eyes open and found the_ ooman_ staring at him. He couldn't read her expression, but the corners of her strange mouth were turned downwards.

A second _ooman_, also a female judging by both of their prominent milk glands jutting out from beneath their strange garb, came forward and held some sort of device in her hands.

The device was flat and seemed to function like the electronic eyes back on his ship. On the image plate was a clear picture of a creature's ribs. Judging by the way they were pointing at him, those were his ribs on screen. . .and they were broken. . .

The _oomans_ garbled their language at him, but he couldn't understand a word. The shortest of the two reached forward and lightly pulled at the strap across his chest, and then pointed to the image of his ribs on her device again. Then she made a motion at him that gave him the idea that she wanted him to stay.

Stay there? . . .Strapped in?

Helena looked over at Miriam and motioned towards the creature. "Think he understands?" She asked. Miriam frowned before looking at Helena. "I think he would have given us a clear sign by now if he did. He's at least not trying to pull on the straps anymore." Helena nodded at this and then looked thoughtful. "He's probably hungry." She said to Miriam. "Maybe some food will get him to calm down enough to trust us a little?" Miriam bit her lip and looked in the direction of the lab that lead to the fridge and kitchenette in the back. "We don't know what he eats." She pointed out. Helena shrugged. "We've got salad and steak in there don't we?" Miriam nodded so Helena carried on. "Let's bring out both and we can figure out which one he prefers." She suggested.

Miriam, who just wanted to get her mind off of her husband right now, nodded in agreement with this idea and stood to go get the supplies.

While Miriam left, Helena turned and eyed the straps that were holding his arms down. Could she trust him not to attack her if she undid those? He didn't seem hostile, just a bit frightened. And if he was just frightened, then she needed to show him that he could trust them. They weren't keeping him strapped down to be a prisoner. They were just trying to keep him from moving around too much with his bad ribs.

Shouldn't she show a little trust in him first in order to gain his faith?

Helena decided to do it. Slowly reaching out, she made sure he could clearly see her hands as she went for the first buckle around his left arm. She tried not to touch his skin too much in case he wasn't comfortable with it, but she managed to get the first strap off. As soon as it was gone, Helena let her arms drop to her sides and watched for his reaction on this increase of freedom he now had.

Dachande watched in bewilderment as the tallest _ooman_ released his arm from its confinement.

Either this _ooman_ was foolish and believed she was safe against him, or she had incredible amounts of faith in the belief that he would not hurt her for this kind deed. The _ooman_ stood a safe distance away, so he assumed it was the second option.  
When his arm was freed, he immediately lifted it up to look at it. It didn't appear damaged like he thought it would be. Only a few burn marks marred his arm, and they were only surface level. He clenched his fingers together and flexed his bicep. No muscles seemed damaged either.

When the _ooman_ moved in the direction of his other arm, he took a much more relaxed stance, understanding her intentions better now.

Helena released his other arm once she realized that he wasn't going to try and swipe at her once the first one was freed. Once his right arm was free, he brought the limb up to inspect it like he had the other one. He seemed pleased with the results, and to Helena's surprise, a low purring seemed to escape his throat for a split second before he composed himself again. He looked at Helena and gave her a nod of gratitude when Miriam came back in with two large bowls.

Miriam gasped when she saw that the patient's arms were free, but Helena turned to look at her and gave her a reassuring wave to come over to them. "He's fine." She declared. Miriam hesitantly came over and gave one bowl to Helena. One contained a pile of meat while the other held a rushed together salad.

Dachande watched as both of the woman held the bowls out to him.

He blinked as he saw food in both bowls, but then looked up when he saw that they were gesturing to him. They were pointing back and forth between the bowls and then at him before making a motion that he couldn't place, but seemed to be one of confusion. Did they want him to choose which one to eat?

Both woman watched as the alien chose the bowl of meat out of the two.

They watched in fascination as he scarfed down the meal like he hadn't eaten in days. His mandibles held the slices of meat up high while his teeth took huge chunks out of it at a time. A slip of a forked tongue would poke out every now and then to help guide the meat in. When he was finished with the meat, he looked at the bowl of salad in Miriam's hands longingly. It seemed he was still hungry.

Miriam held the salad bowl out to him and watched as he reached in and grabbed handfuls of lettuce before shoving it in his mouth.

"Huh." Helena said before reaching behind her and grabbing her water bottle. Uncapping the lid, she waited until he was done before offering him the water. He eyed the bottle suspiciously, but when she made a motion of tossing her head back and acting like she was drinking something, he took the bottle and held it up to his mandibles. His forked tongue flicked out like a snakes several times before he finally tipped the bottle back and chugged the contents. He finished the thing in three gulps.

Miriam looked at Helena and for the first time that day, gave a genuine laugh. "I think we're going to need more salad and meat."  
The alien let out a surprising burp which nearly sent Miriam into a fit of giggles. "And some water too."

Helena laughed and went to get just that.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Ooman**: human

_Welp, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. To those who have read the comic/novel that this fanfic is based off, I hope the scene changes make sense. I'm worried it might come off as choppy._

_Anyways, I'll see you in the next chapter!_


	5. Chapter4 In Which They Learn

"Ms. Noguchi, Hiroki has asked us to escort you into the Lector."

Machiko internally sighed at this, but couldn't help but give a soft chuckle at Hiroki's antics. "Let me guess, he ordered you to do it even if I ordered you away?"  
The person who had spoken, Riley, nodded at her and snuffed out his cigarette. "Yes ma'am." Though the way he said it was almost sarcastic sounding. Machiko shrugged at this and let the guy lead the way to the Lector.

Riley was babbling on about how he thought that the compound was safe and secure until they reached the Lector's entrance. Machiko tuned him out until then. The Lector hadn't taken off and the pilots were nowhere to be seen. She had decided to go check the ship herself to see what the problem was. Afterwards, she would go get Miriam and Helena and take them back to the main compound for lockdown.

She wasn't ready for the truth she was about to see.

"Hold on. Let me get the lights." Riley said as he strode into the Lector first, not being cautious with his actions. No sooner had he entered the Lector than a piercing scream of pain came out and Machiko was startled out of her thoughts. She looked up in horror as a black, spiny tail had skewered Riley through the chest and was lifting him up into the darkness. She gasped as a black, banana shaped head rose out of the darkness with an almost dramatic affect.

Machiko took out the gun that Hiroki had given her, and fired.

The noise drew more of the hard-shelled creatures out from the darkness. They hissed at Machiko and snapped their inner mouths in her direction. Machiko kept firing until she heard her gun click. Her heart dropped a mile in her chest as soon as she heard it.

She was out of bullets!

Machiko didn't have any more rounds to reload. She was backed up against a wall as the creatures that she now recognized from Helena's story earlier surrounded ****her**** now. They hissed low and coiled themselves low to the ground, getting ready to spring at her.

Suddenly, Machiko heard a roar from above.

Looking up, she spotted another one of the humanoid aliens standing above her. It seemed massive since she was standing below it. The thing rose its spear into the air and shook it threateningly as it roared again. Then it suddenly jumped from the wall and landed right smack in the middle of the black-bug alien pack. Machiko watched for a moment as this being started mowing the bugs down like grass. It's spear would flash in and out of her vision before another bug would fall. For a while, the battle seemed in the humanoid's favor.

But the swarm came up and started overpowering the humanoid.

Machiko took her chance and climbed the wall. There was a moto she lived by, and it had proven her right nearly every time in the past. ****Never align yourself with a loser****. The humanoid was good, but clearly had no practice in battle before. He had all the moves, but didn't know how to be affective with them in combat.

Machiko let the novice die by the swarm while she ran to get Miriam and Helena and get back to the compound.

* * *

Helena watched the humanoid eat some more while Miriam made herself busy around the lab.

He definitely preferred his meat, but every now and then he would eat some greens from the bowls the women had provided for him. They set up rolling trays nearby so he could easily reach down and grab what he wanted instead of waiting for them to hand it over. And he ate a lot!

Helena watched him move and figured he was either jittery or needed to go to the bathroom. One leg was bouncing non-stop, even with the strap on it.

Helena slid off from the table and turned towards Miriam. "I'm going to show this guy how to use the bathroom. I think he needs to go." She informed. Miriam gave her an aghast look at the thought. "Helena, we've got tools so he doesn't have to move." She reminded. Helena shook her head. "If I were an alien amongst aliens, I think I'd want my privacy too when I'd have to go. Don't worry, I'll teach him how to use the toilet."

Miriam didn't look too confident about this, but Helena was already moving to undo all of the straps on the humanoid.

Dachande paused his eating and watched the tall **ooman** wearily as it approached him. He felt much better now that he had a chance to eat and drink his weight in **ju'dha**. Though he could tell that his ribs weren't fully healed yet. He didn't mind it that much. The two_ oomans _had a peaceful energy about them. It brought his mind to rest and gave him the time to let himself heal without having to worry about anything.

But now the tall _ooman_ was coming towards him and he wondered what she had planned to do now.

He watched as she brought her hands up clearly so he could see them. She had survival instincts, at least. She knew he was dangerous and respected his space, even with the interactions going on lately.  
Much to his surprise, the _ooman_ crouched down in front of him and reached for his leg. Dachande almost kicked out on instinct, but the strap around his thigh prevented him. To his amazement however, the_ ooman_ woman undid that strap. Dachande watched with a weary eye as she reached for his other thigh and undid that strap as well.

Helena took a step back and watched him bend his legs up and out, stretching them and viewing them with a critical eye like he had his arms earlier.

Dachande grit his teeth together in pain as moving his legs pulled at the muscles at his sides. His still broken ribs ached and any movement reminded him of it. Then his head whipped back up as he sensed movement. The _ooman_ was approaching him again, just as slow as before. Dachande held still as she reached out again. He watched her hands grab at the strap holding his chest down and she worked to undo that.  
She was freeing him?

The last strap was around his stomach. Once that would come off, he'd be free of his confinement.

Helena reached out towards his belly and slowly undid the strap. She had no idea how he'd react to her once he was fully free, but she was hoping that he wouldn't try to attack her. For all she knew, he could have been waiting for them to let their guards down.  
But Helena wasn't one to let paranoia of strangers stop her.

Dachande nearly fell over when the strap came off.

Being stuck to a table and unable to move for so long threw him off his balance. His legs wobbled from not being in motion for so long. The _ooman_ woman reached out and helped him keep his balance as he stumbled off of the table. He took a couple wobbly steps before his stride became more confident.

Turning towards her, he bowed his head in thanks and looked back up to find her making a motion towards him to follow her.

Curious, he did so. The woman led him down a hallway before stopping at a door that was close to the original room they had been in. She reached out and opened it up before heading inside. Dachande followed her and a strange smell hit his scent glands. The room smelled slightly acidic, yet sweet like a fruit. He couldn't place it, but wasn't concerned about it. He was more focused on the objects in the room than the smell.

The ooman gestured towards a bowl shaped object that was right in the middle of the room. It almost looked like a chair, yet it was clearly attached to the wall and had a bowl full of liquid instead of a padded seat. He looked towards the _ooman_ curiously and saw her motioning towards him and the bowl-chair. When he cocked his head at her, she then pointed at his crotch and then at the bowl. Then pointing at her own crotch, she made a motion of something coming out and into the bowl. Then she grabbed these white, almost cloth looking squares from a roll nearby and made a motion that looked like she was wiping her crotch before she tossed the cloth squares into the bowl part of the chair. Then Dachande watched as she reached over and pressed down on a small silver handle. To his amazement, a strange sound came from the chair and the water inside of the bowl began to swirl around until it drained out through a hole that was at the very bottom. The cloth squares went with the water and disappeared down the hole. Then the bowl filled back up with the liquid and the noise stopped.

Dachande stared at the scene as his mind quickly put the pieces together. This was their version of a** dump drain** and she had just showed him how to use it!

He looked back at the _ooman_ in amazement and respect. His bladder had been near bursting for a while now and he had been worried that he'd be strapped to the table still when he'd eventually be forced to relieve himself. He hadn't expected the_ ooman_ to do this for him. Then to Dachande's surprise, she gestured over to one of the other objects in the room. It was another bowl, yet it was risen up on a flat surface. A weird silver object was positioned over the bowl.

The _ooman_ reached out and grabbed a piece of the object before turning it. Dachande watched as _ju'dha_ came rushing out of the object and into the bowl. The _ooman_ motioned him over and he came closer to watch her demonstrate how to use the objects. Sticking her hands under the _ju'dha_, she took them back out before reaching for a nearby container that had a nozzle on the top. Pressing a thumb on the nozzle, another liquid came out that pooled into her palm. She rubbed this liquid over her hands for a good long while before dipping them under the _ju'dha_ again and rinsing off the bubbles that had formed.

'_A hand washing station._' Dachande thought as he figured out what she was doing. The liquid from the container must have been cleaning chemicals.

The _ooman_ turned to look at him and he nodded at her to show that he understood. The corners of her mouth turned upwards and then she left back for the door. Reaching for the handle, she quickly showed Dachande how the locking mechanism worked. It was really quite simple and Dachande wondered how anyone could possibly rely on such a feeble lock, but he brushed it off. He was just grateful to have a small measurement of privacy anyway.

The _ooman_ motioned towards him, then the bowl-chair, and then him again before she left the room and closed the door behind herself. Dachande locked the door like she had showed him and then went to relieve himself.

He realized then just how much he owed these_ oomans_ and wondered how he was ever going to pay them back.

* * *

Machiko was gripping the handle bars of her flier so tightly, her knuckles were turning white.

While she had made her way back to the compound to grab that flier, she had learned of something terrible that made her heart ache. The humanoids had attacked the compound and were wiping out the small security forces they had set up. The casualties were still piling up and among them was Hiroki.

The last Machiko saw of him was on a screen as his head was being skewered by one of the humanoids.

She had to get to Miriam and Helena. The danger was too great, they all had to move to the compound now. After ordering everyone to stay clear of the Lector and to never approach it under any circumstances, Machiko left to go back on her mission. She had given them a brief explanation of what had happened and had ordered ten clips for her gun. Now she felt mildly more prepared than before.

Machiko saw the lab coming up in her sights, but she didn't see the stalker who was silently following behind her. Hard to do when these things had the technology to appear invisible.

Machiko recklessly parked her flier and hopped off as soon as it came to a stop. "Dr. Revna! It's me, Machiko!" She shouted once she got to the door. Machiko heard unlocking from the other side before the door was opened and Miriam peaked out from behind it. "Machiko? What's going on?" She asked. Machiko let herself in and closed the door behind her, out of breath. "We have to go. You, Helena and your patient need to be moved to-" She stopped once she looked up and found the humanoid no longer strapped down to the table.

Her heart took a leap and her gun was out before she could stop herself. "Miriam, get behind me!"

"Woah, woah! Calm down, I just let him get up to go to the bathroom. That's all." Helena came out of nowhere and stood in front of the humanoid protectively. The humanoid seemed unfazed, though at a closer glance he was eyeing Machiko's gun wearily and Helena as well. Machiko didn't put her gun down, but she did lower it slightly. "Helena, why would you let him off? You have no idea if his intentions are to kill you or not." Helena shook her head at Machiko with a frown. "You're right, I didn't. But I'm a doctor, Noguchi, and my job is to my patients regardless of who or what they are. I learned a long time ago that you have to put your trust in someone else first in order for them to trust you. . .I trust him."

Machiko's gun lowered even further towards the floor. "His kind killed Hiroki!" She exclaimed.

Dr. Revna gasped and Helena's frown deepened. She shook her head again, though this time with a shuddering, grief-filled breath. "They did, but not him. I'm not going to hold him responsible for something his kind did. . .imagine how they must view us if they judge that way as well." Machiko was speechless for a moment before she sighed and finally put the gun away. She eyed the creature wearily before looking at Miriam and Helena. "It's not safe here. We need to move you and your patient to the compound-" "I'm staying." Miriam interrupted. Helena and Machiko looked at her in surprise. "What?" Machiko asked, mouth gaping.

Miriam looked near tears, but still determined. "I'm staying. This is where Kesar will come when he returns. I want to be there for that."

Machiko looked ready to shout, but Helena walked forward and placed a hand on Miriam's shoulder. "Miriam. . .please be reasonable. Kesar would want you safe first." "I'm not leaving." Miriam said stubbornly. "I. . .I need to be here for him. . ."  
Helena sent Machiko a helpless look before sighing. "Fine. . .but I'm staying with you." Now Machiko looked ready to berate her but Helena shook her head at the overseer. "I know what you're thinking. . .but If she's staying, then I'm staying behind to protect her. . .I know what's out there. I'll do my best to keep her safe."

Machiko looked defeated and finely sighed, giving in. "Fine. . .but if he's not back by sundown, I'm bringing all three of you back with me." She warned. Then she handed Miriam a gun and quickly showed her how to shoot it. "You'll know who to shoot at when you need to."

Helena and Miriam nodded at this and Machiko finally turned and left.

* * *

The stalker watched the _ooman_ leave the building again on it's little hovering craft.

He was doing a patrol to see if there were other _oomans_ hiding anywhere, and it was just his luck that this one would lead him to some. Tichinde, the yautja that had stalked Noguchi, lifted his upper mandibles in an evil looking smile. He waited for the _ooman_ to be clear out of sight before dropping down and approaching the door. Pressing a button on his gauntlet, the animal loop played out and the strange _ooman_ language called out from it.

"**Dr. Revna! It's me, Machiko!**"

The door opened.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Ooman**: human

-**ju'dha**: water

-**dump drain**: toilet

_Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you're cringing at the bathroom part, good. It's a question I always had about stories like these. How would you teach someone to use the bathrooms you use if they're foreign to them? I see it all the time in movies where the person/creature who's foreign to the group is just simulated into the culture smoothly and I keep thinking "how do they teach them things like using their bathrooms? And what kind of bathrooms do they use?"_

_Anyways, I'll see you in the next chapter!_


	6. Chapter5 In Which Death Follows

Machiko looked back in the direction of the lab when she heard the familiar sound of gunfire.

Her heart leapt to her throat and she waisted no time in swerving the flyer around and zooming back in the direction she had come from. '_I was gone for less than two minutes!_' Machiko mentally shouted as she made her way back. She hoped it was just a misfire, or Revna testing it out, but she secretly knew it wasn't.

'_Please be alive, please be alive! Miriam, Helena, please be alive!_'

Machiko spotted the lab and gunned the engine harder. Sounds of a struggle and fighting hit her ears and then Miriam screamed out, followed by more gunfire. Machiko waisted no more time on thinking about what to do. She aimed right at the lab wall and turned aside for nothing.

She only jumped out at the last second.

* * *

"Miriam!" Helena screamed as the door was kicked all the way open once Dr. Revna had barely cracked it open.

Miriam was then hit hard enough to send her flying backwards against a table. She and the table crashed to the floor and Miriam struggled to breath for a moment as her attacker stepped into the lab. The being stepped on the scattered supplies that had fallen from the table and Miriam for a moment recognized that the creature was the same species as the one she had been taking care of. Cracking glass reached her ears as well as Helena's shouting and an unfamiliar roar. Blearily, she shook her head to regain focus and looked down at her feet. The gun Machiko had gifted her was laying on the floor not three feet from her. She reached over and grabbed it before standing up with shaking legs. She took a moment and saw what was happening.

She saw Helena standing protectively in front of their patient as the attacker advanced.

Meanwhile, Dachande was stunned by what he saw. One of his students had survived the crash! Tichinde, one of his most skilled and strongest pupils, yet who also had an authority issue and had a hard time following orders, was alive and standing before him.

He was also aiming his burner at the tall **ooman** who was standing in front of him protectively.

With a roar, Dachande grabbed the _ooman_ by her arms and yanked her aside. She was surprisingly lighter than he expected, and he accidentally sent her flying to the side. He didn't dwell on it though, instead keeping his focus on Tichinde. His pupil still didn't lower his burner, much to Dachande's anger.

"You dare **Kv'var** the _oomans_ during a blooding?! You dare point your burner at me?!" He roared.

Tichinda flinched for a moment and that was all Dachande needed. He shot his talons forward and knocked Tichinde's burner off of his shoulder. The thing clattered to the floor and Tichinde raised his spear to fend him off, but Dachande wasn't putting up with any of it. He slapped Tichinde's spear aside, but before he could do anything else, they were both flung away by an object crashing into the wall beside them.

Dachande barely had time to register that it was the third _ooman_ when Tichinde was back on his feet and he rose to meet him.

Machiko shook herself of the dust and ran into the hole that she created. She was still silently begging for Miriam and Helena to be alive when she spotted them amongst the ruble.

Helena was buried in it but was getting to her feet already. Miriam had been standing the entire time and had her gun aimed at the two creatures who looked alike. One of them Machiko recognized as their alien patient. He had no mask on and one of his tusks was broken. The other did have a mask on, and was slightly shorter than the one with a broken tusk. Machiko watched their patient lift the other one off of the ground by his throat and she decided to quit watching the fight. She rushed in and ran to Miriam's side. "We have to go, now!" Her tone left no room for arguing. Miriam vaguely nodded with a shaky head and turned towards Noguchi. "He saved me." She breathed.

They heard approaching footsteps and turned to see Helena cupping her shoulder and limping towards them. "Let's go." She wheezed before coughing. Miriam made a move to go near her, but Helena waved her off. "I just inhaled some dust. Let's go!" She repeated. Helena moved in the direction of the hole Machiko had made and her steps became more steady as she walked. Machiko shared one look with Miriam before they all followed her example.

They jumped out of the hole and started running.

* * *

Dachande vaguely acknowledged that the _oomans_ had run away, but he didn't pursue them.

He was more interested in the contents of his pupil's trophy bag. Lifting up the netted material while he held Tichinde by his throat, all it took was one quick look to send Dachande into a rage. Tichinde had clearly been hunting the oomans. Normally, he wouldn't have cared, but this was a blooding hunt. On a blooding hunt you only, **only**, hunted the **kiande amedha** or the food you intended to eat. To hunt anything else for sport was considered not only dishonorable but a distraction from their goal.

But that wasn't why Dachande was mad.

Hunting oomans on a blooding was forgivable. Even the most disciplined warriors knew the call to spill blood was strong, especially in the young. No, what angered Dachande was something unforgivable, and Tichinde had done it.

To kill a child.

Dachande found the skull of a _ooman_ child in Tichinde's trophy sack. To hunt children was not only considered an abominable act, but also pointless. There was no honor in killing something that was not fully developed nor had the knowledge or skill to fight back. Not only that, but robbing a child of it's life meant robbing it of its chance to experience the universe. Something even the **Black Warrior** did not condone, but still had to do his job for.  
This was a rule they lived by for all sapient life forms. If it could think with reason like they could, then their species was considered to belong to that rule as well.  
And _oomans_ were sapient.

Dachande looked at Tichinde, now an **ic'jit**, and bashed him to the floor.

Dachande let his rage fly and he pummeled Tichinde thoroughly, watching with disgust as his former student weakly tried to block his blows. After a good long while, Dachande let Tichinde drop to the floor in a heap. Dachande stood back and breathed heavily as he watched Tichinde try to move. His former pupil tried to crawl away from Dachande as his body shook. This made Dachande angry once more. His student would try to run from death rather than face it head on? Dachande would give him no choice in the matter.

Picking up Tichinde's spear, he gave himself a second to stand over Tichinde's quivering body before pointing the tip and ramming it down hard through Tichinde's back.

His former student gave one last gasp of a breath before going still.

Dachande yanked the spear back out and started stripping Tichinde's body of its gear. He'd need it since his got damaged in the blast that leveled their ship. He'd also need it in case he ran into any more of his students. If they were here and if they had followed Tichinde's example, then they would have to meet the same fate. Young unblooded Yautja by nature followed and listened to the strongest Yautja that rose up in the group. While Dachande was gone, the strongest one had been Tichinde.  
Which meant the others had gone to hunt _oomans_ as well.

Dachande stepped out through the hole the third _ooman_ had made and looked around. He'd have to figure out what the entire situation was first before making any moves. They still had _Kiande Amedha_ roaming around, which was dangerous enough without _oomans_ involved. Come to think of it, If his other pupils were now hunting the _oomans_, that would explain why the third _ooman_ was so hostile towards him earlier. He'd be pointing his burner at them too if the situation was reversed.

Side still aching from his broken ribs, Dachande began to jog at a steady pace to analyze his surroundings and figure out what to do from there after.

* * *

"Do any of you know how to fly?" Machiko asked as they approached the helicopter pad.

She looked back to find Miriam and Helena both frowning and shaking their heads. "Too busy." Helena muttered. Miriam bit her bottom lip. "Kesar was going to teach me. . ." Noguchi sighed. She didn't know how to fly either, but they had to try. It was the only way back to Prosperity Wells since her flyer was totaled. "Let's just get inside and see what to do from there." She concluded.

Giving her nods for her idea, the woman all ran to the chopper and piled in. Once in, Machiko grabbed the radio and got to work. "Copter one. Do you read me, tower?"

For a moment, a hiss of static burst the cabin before she heard the welcoming sound of Weaver's voice. "We copy. What's happening?" Machiko gave a breath of relief before replying. "Miriam, Helena and I are all in a copper and none of us are checked out to fly. Think you can get us off the ground?" Weaver replied back instantly with relieving news. "Okay, we've got you."

Machiko then spent two minutes pushing all of the buttons that Weaver directed her to and the Chopper took off.

Machiko let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and focused on flying the helicopter. It was surprisingly easier than she thought it was going to be. If you didn't count the mini-heart attacks she had every time they hit rough air.

Machiko thought their troubles were over when Miriam yelled out. "Machiko, my patient!" And then she pointed past her.

Machiko looked towards where she was pointing and gapped in surprise. There was Miriam's alien patient, climbing the intercom tower up the rickety ladder with three or four of those black bug-like aliens chasing after him. He was bravely fending them off one handed while his other was occupied with holding himself on to the ladder. Miriam's hand wavered as she pointed. "We have to save him!"

"What?!" Machiko shouted and even Helena gave her an aghast look. Miriam bit her lip and pleaded. "Please Machiko, it's important. He saved my life!"

Machiko only had a couple of seconds to decide Broken Tusk's fate.

* * *

Dachande had been walking around the confusing _ooman_ building structures when he heard a familiar sound.

His heart gave a leap as he looked for shelter nearby and spotted the tower. He immediately made for higher ground. The sound he heard could only come from one thing, and that was a stampede. He had only experienced them twice before, and both times it were on a hunt. He just hoped his idiotic students would hear the sound and realize they had to climb higher if they wanted to live.

He barely made it up high enough when the stampede came around the corner.

They weren't _kiande amedha_, but they were bulbous beasts adorned with two horns on their snouts and grey thick hide. Some of them had clearly trampled the _kiande amedha_ by the burn marks on their sides, but thanks to their thick hide, it was taking longer to melt through.  
Four of the_ Kiande Amedha _were running ahead of the stampede and aimed for higher ground as well. They veered towards Dachande's direction and that's when he realized that they were going to climb the rungs to reach him. He climbed faster, but it was no use. _Kianded Amedha_ were known for their speed. Their light bodies made it possible for them to move swiftly and climb nimbly. They reached him in no time, but Dachande used his spear to fight them off the best he could. Hard to do when he could only use one hand.

Suddenly, a strange sound went off nearby and one of the **r'ka** was shot off the ladder below him. Dachande whipped his head up and found the three oomans in some strange flying vessel hovering nearby. They made motions at him and shouted at him in their strange language, but the intent was clear. He had to jump.

Gripping the rung tightly, Dachande coiled himself up and leapt off just as the first _kiande amedha_ reached for his ankles.

* * *

"Grab the strut! We'll pull you to safety!" Machiko shouted through the intercom at Broken Tusk.

She couldn't believe she was doing it, but she was. Miriam was looking out the window from the front seat expectantly and Helena was in the back waiting by the open door. She had her arms open and was ready to help pull the alien in once he'd eventually jump. When he leapt, Machiko was already in motion of pulling the copter away from the area.

Only they felt two thuds hit their helicopter instead of just one.

Broken Tusk had grabbed on to the strut, but one of those black bugs had jumped on as well. It landed on the hood and caused their helicopter to spin out of control.  
The sound of her friends screaming, Broken Tusk roaring and the bug's screeching reached Machiko's ears before everything went black and deaf.

The plane crashed down.

* * *

"Noguchi! Noguchi, wake up!"

Machiko heard ringing in her ears and opened her eyes to see everything in a blurry view before the pain settled in and fully woke her up. She couldn't breath and opened her mouth to take in air but none came. When she eventually made gagging sounds, a hand slammed on her back and shocked her lungs into working again. Machiko gasped as a voice told her to breath.

"In and out Machiko, that's it!" It was Helena.

Machiko took big shuttering, gasping breaths before her body aches gave her enough sense to look around. Everything seemed to be on fire, but Helena was squatted in front of her like some rock in the middle of a stormy sea. Machiko tried to focus on her and not the chaos surrounding her. Helena's face had a look of concern but determination as well.

"Better?" Helana asked. Machiko coughed and nodded. "Yeah." She wheezed. "Good." Helena held a hand out and helped Machiko to her feet. "Because we've got to go."

"You're alive!" They suddenly heard unfamiliar voices shout from behind them. Machiko and Helena whipped around and spotted faces they didn't expect to see. Scott and Tom, the Lector's pilots, stood before them looking like something the rhynth would crap out. Tom looked the worse out of the two, and he was heavily leaning against Scott for support. Machiko stepped forward and nodded. "For now. We need to get-" She heard Helena gasp behind her and turned to see what the problem was now.

Broken Tusk stood before them with a dead body cradled in his arms.

He reverently set the body down on the ground before them and one look caused Helena to burst into sobs and Machiko to shake in rage and pain.

Miriam Revna went on to join her husband in the afterlife.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**ooman**: human

-**Kv'var** : hunt

-**kiande amedha**: Hard meat/ Xenomorphs

-**Black Warrior**: Their deity/god of death. Their version of the Grimm Reaper.

-**ic'jit**: Bad blood/ criminal

-**r'ka**: Xenomorph (kind of a slur for them)

_Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Don't be mad at me for Miriam dying, that actually happened in the books as well._

_Anyways, toodles!_


	7. Chapter6 In Which the Witch Returns

Dachande watched awkwardly as the ****oomans**** busied themselves over the corpse of their lost comrade.

The tallest of them seemed to be the most distraught. The female wouldn't stop shaking and covering her face with her hands. Among Yautja, this would be considered a sign of weakness, but Dachande knew that _oomans_ took death harder than them. It was rumored that the pain they feel was intense when a loved one passes. Some believed it to be worse than any physical wound they could receive.

From the look of how the tall _ooman _woman was reacting, Dachande figured those rumors might be right.

Machiko moved with silent grace while Helena grieved beside her. She took her jacket off and laid it over Miriam's still body, covering her face and torso at least. One of the pilots, Scott, silently gave her a bottle of some sort of alcoholic drink that he had been saving on him. Machiko gently poured the contents over Miriam's body and stood back. She patted her pockets for a lighter or a match, but Helena beat her to it.

Surprisingly, Helena managed to stand to her feet while she was still crying. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a lighter and flicked it to life. With one last choked sob, she tossed the lighter down and watched her friend's body ignite before her. Everyone took a step back from the intense heat and watched for a moment as the flames consumed the body.

Machiko looked at Helena to find an empty mournful look in her eyes.

She reached out and touched Helena's wrist, who looked over back at Machiko with a frown. "We've got to go." Machiko softly said. For a moment, Helena didn't react or say anything. Machiko was afraid she had become too broken, but then Helena spoke. "Yeah. . . . let's go. . ." Her voice was so soft, Machiko could barely hear her.

Machiko didn't let go of her wrist as she turned and motioned towards Tom and Scott. "Let's find shelter."

The pilots nodded in agreement and Scott practically dragged Tom back in the direction they had come from. Machiko began to follow before remembering about Broken Tusk (she had decided to just call him that for now). She turned her head over her shoulder to look at him and found him still standing there awkwardly. He didn't seem to know if he should follow or not. Machiko made a motion with her head for him to follow. "Coming?" She asked. She had no idea if he could actually understand her or not, but he seemed to get the gist of it. Broken Tusk took a few strides and caught up to them before the group moved on.

The flames danced at their backs behind them.

* * *

Tom was seated in a chair while the group discussed the matter before him.

They had returned to the warehouse he and Scott had been hiding in. The alien they had brought with them was guarding the door while Scott, the Japanese lady and the really tall lady argued over the best way out of this situation.

Man, he felt like crap. Probably looked like it too.

Something in his chest was hurting bad. Really bad. It felt tight, and no matter what different angle he positioned his body in, there was no relief from the pressure, and it was getting worse.  
His attention was drawn back into the conversation when mentions of those black, exoskeleton aliens came into the topic. "We need to destroy them. Simply running to the desert with the others won't be enough." The Japanese lady spoke. Scott easily shot back at her remarks. "And how would you know that?" He snapped. The Japanese lady gave him a scalding look. "Because do you honestly think those things will stay here once the Rhynth are eaten up and gone? No! They'll track and follow us. We won't live long enough for help to arrive. So we need to somehow destroy all of them at once." "Well how do you plan to do that?" Scott folded his arms over his chest stubbornly, so Tom decided to speak up.

"Scott!" He went into a coughing fit for a moment before continuing. "The Lector. . .you know what we. . .can do. . ." He coughed between words as the pain took a sudden sharp and tremendous increase.

"No way!" Scott suddenly snapped. The Japanese woman whirled on him. "Don't you dare hold out on me. What do you know that could help us?" "Forget it!" Scott snapped. "I have shares in this investment as well and I am not going to lose it-" He was suddenly interrupted by Tom's coughing fit.

The pain had reached a climax and Tom fell to the floor.

Scott paused his rant and looked over. "Tommy? . . ." He went to his friend's side, but then he was suddenly shoved away by the alien that had accompanied them. The alien had a spear raised over his shoulder and Scott thought he was going to stab Tom. He shouted at the alien. "What are you-" He was interrupted by the most sickening sound he had ever heard. Flesh literally being ripped apart so abruptly you didn't have time to blink.

Scott watched in horror as some sort of creature ruptured forth from Tom's chest and jumped out onto the ground.

The comrade alien waisted no time in spearing the little blight through the back. The squirming new-born let out a pitiful squeal before going limp, just like Tom. Scott was frozen on the spot as several things dawned on him.  
If Tom had that bug in him, he had it too. And if he had it too. . .he was going to die just like his best friend. . .

Scott couldn't hold back the mournful wail that escaped his lips.

* * *

Scott sat on a chair staring out the warehouse's window as Noguchi prepared the gun behind him.

Once he came to terms with the fact that he was going to die, he had told her how she could kill all of the aliens on one go. She'd have to get back to the Lector first. That's where the queen was when he and Tom had been captured and impregnated. Then she'd have to blow the ship up from the main cabin, and then get out of there as fast as possible with an escape pod.

While lost in his thoughts, he felt a small hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see the tall woman standing over him.

She had a frown on her face, but she gave him a comforting squeeze and he couldn't help but give her a small smile in an attempt to reassure her that he'd be alright. "I'm sorry about your friend." She quietly said. His smile turned into a frown, but he nodded at her. "I am too. . ." Neither knew what else to say before Machiko stepped forward and motioned towards Scott. "Ready?" She gently asked.  
Scott sighed and nodded his head. "Just make it quick." The alien comrade was nearby with his spear raised, ready to kill the alien fetus growing inside of him.

Scott gave Machiko the nod of approval before closing his eyes. Machiko raised the gun to the back of his head. "Just think of something happy Scott." She tried to relax him. Scott gave a dry laugh before replying. "I already am."

Machiko frowned as she pulled the trigger.

* * *

Dachande raised his spear and brought it down on the second **z'skvy-de** that had been birthed in the _ooman's_ chest.

He watched the last two remaining _oomans_ set the two dead ones down on the ground in a respectful manner. They didn't have anything to burn the bodies with like they did with the female from before, but they still covered the bodies with nearby sheets of shiny looking fabric. They took a moment to mourn before Dachande growled at them a time reminder.

The pair got up and looked at him before babbling a moment in their language to each other and then turning towards another door.

The three made their way out of the building, and just in time too. While Dachande had been keeping watch, the **kiande amedha** had been pounding ravenously against their sealed door, trying to get in. While they would sneak out the back, the stupid beasts would break into their temporary sanctuary to find nothing.

All three kept a high alert out for danger as they walked. The shortest _ooman_ led the way. From the way this _ooman_ held himself, Dachande guessed that this one was the leader of the _oomans_. His steps were sure and precise, and he had a clear head at all times. He was the only one who hadn't let the deaths of the previous three affect him.

The woman though had clearly put the thoughts of death out of her mind as well. She no longer had that distracted look in her eyes. Dachande was happy that she had done her mourning quickly. All three of them would need to be at their best in order to survive an infestation from a hive.

For a while, all was quiet, and both Machiko and Helena had begun to hope that they would reach the Lector without any problems.

They were mistaken.

From the roofs of the buildings next to them, five of the bug aliens dropped down to attack them. Hissing and screeching reached their ears and that was the only warning they got. Machiko and Helena whipped their guns around and started shooting. Helena had taken the gun from the lab when Miriam had dropped it. Their alien friend on the other hand seemed to avoid using his own gun on his shoulder as much as possible. He did combat with his spear, which made Helena subconsciously worry about his ribs.

More of the bugs showed up as more went down from their fighting. The battle had attracted the horde.

Dachande found his side mostly clear. when he killed the last one, he spun around to help the other two. He found them covered in scratch marks from the _kiande amedha_ that had gotten too close. When he made a move towards their direction, he found the shortest _ooman _suddenly get head butted by one of the creatures. As he was stumbling back from the blow, the **r'ka** lunged forward and gashed his chest with its inner mouth. Red **thwei** dribbled down the _ooman's_ chest and he fell backwards as the_ r'ka_ loomed over him.

Before Dachande could do anything to help, a loud booming sound thundered around them and the_ Kiande amedha_ were all thrown backwards. They skidded long and far, causing Dachande to be confused. He and the _oomans_ were thrown back as well, but not as far as the _r'ka_ were.

Shaking himself out of his daze, Dachande looked up and immediately regretted it.  
The thing standing before him was a creature he had been hoping to never see again. The Witch.

She smiled at him from her twisted mouth. Her misshapen body convulsed repulsively, giving him the image of a Queen_ Kiande Amedha's _egg sack. Her many legs held her up high, stabbing into the ground like pegs. Her bulbous head could never seem to remain still, and her many eyes all glanced at him for a moment before turning and looking at his _ooman_ companions as well.

She gave a cruel laugh and began speaking to him. A feat which disturbed Dachande greatly since her mouth didn't seem to move at all.

"I think I shall make this a little easier on you three. . .yes, I shall."  
One of her many legs thumped against the ground and suddenly his two_ ooman_ companions were knocked out cold. Dachande gapped as the Witch let out another laugh and moved her body around. "Better pick them up and run. I didn't fling your enemies that far."

"Witch!" Dachande hissed out just as she disappeared.

The familiar screeching sound picked up again and Dachande looked to find the _Kiande amedha_ back on their feet and running at them once more. Wasting no time, he picked up both unconscious _oomans_, threw them over his shoulders and ran.

His burner shot behind him the entire time.

* * *

Dachande barely managed to find a shelter in time.

Finding a nearby building, he ran into it and dropped the _oomans_ to the ground unceremoniously. Turning back around, he closed the door and fiddled with the locking mechanisms for a moment before becoming too frustrated. He just slammed the door hard enough to drive it into the wood from instead.

Turning back to the _oomans_, they were still knocked out on the ground. Dachande went over and repositioned them. The tall female he laid out on the floor flat. She didn't require any of his attention. The short male though, was badly injured. Dachande propped him up against the wall and began to strip him of his strange garb.

As soon as the first top layer came off, Dachande felt like smacking himself in the forehead.

This one wasn't a male. It's milk glands had just been hidden underneath all of the garments she had been wearing. A fatal mistake to make on his part in a time like this.  
Dachande shook himself out of his shock and refocused on his previous task. He had to get her wounds checked up. He wasn't sure how much he could actually do to help if they were fatal.

While he was searching for something to clean the wound with, the tall female began to wake up.

Helena groaned in pain before slowly sitting up and popping her joints. She looked over to find her patient leaning over Machiko and dabbing at her chest with a piece of ripped up cloth he had found. Groaning, Helena scooted over to them, but her patient didn't break his concentration on Machiko. Helena began to reach her hand out to grab the bloody cloth.

"I can do that."

Dachande almost jumped ten feet in the air. He whirled his head around to look at her and stared at her with open shock, mandibles flared. Then he rapidly began to click at her. "You can speak my kind's language?!"  
Now it was Helena's turn to jump. She stared at him in return and almost scooted backwards from him. "You can speak English?" She replied. Her words sounded like clicks and clacks to Dachande. He shook his head at her. "No, I've never spoken a word of. . .englesth. But you've been speaking in my language this entire time!" Helena's mouth dropped to a gap and she shook her head at him this time. "I can hear you speaking English. You can hear me speaking your language?" Dachande nodded at her, but then slapped a palm over his forehead with a growl at himself. "What?" Helena asked, disturbed by his actions.

Dachande pointed at her, then at himself. "The Witch did this. She cast a spell to make us understand each other."

Helena frowned at him. "A witch? There's no such thing as. . .wait, are you talking about that weird spider-termite-giraffe thing that suddenly showed up? The one that knocked Machiko and I out?"

"Yes. . .that's her. . .and as much as I'd like to deny it too, there are witches in this world. . .or at least, there's her." Dachande replied, finding her description of the Witch amusing.

Machiko began to wake up as the two of them spoke.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**oomans: **humans

-**z'skvy-de: **Chest Burster

-**kiande amedha: **Xenomorph/ hard meat

-**r'ka: **Xenomorph

-**thwei: **Blood

_So sorry this took so long. I got sick for a while and am still recovering. But I hope you liked this chapter! And I'll see you in the next one. Bye!_


	8. Chapter7 In Which Everything Explodes

Noguchi stared at the scene before her and rubbed her eyes.

She had just woken up and quickly found out that ****suddenly**** she and Helena could understand their alien visitor. There was stunned silence from all of them for several long, uncomfortable seconds before the alien actually did anything.

"Well. . .I guess we can formally introduce ourselves now." His tone had a slight tinge of sarcasm in it. The girls brushed the tone off and decided to take the offer.

"I'm Machiko." The smallest ****ooman**** went first. "And I'm sorry for pointing my gun at you earlier. I was worried you were going to try and kill the other two like your comrades were doing." Dachande cocked his head at her and silently accepted her apology. Right now, he tried to pronounce her name instead. "Ma. . .shiii. . .cho. . ." He couldn't quite get his mouth around the words. The _ooman_ laughed, and Dachande found it weird that he could hear her laughter in a way that translated to him perfectly. It sounded like she was laughing the way his kind laughed. "Close enough." She said to him. Dachande internally decided to practice saying her name until he got it right. Then the other _ooman_ stepped forward and introduced herself as well. "My name is Helena." Dachande tried to pronounce her name as well, but ended up butchering it just as badly as the other one. "Hellle. . .thna." She laughed as well, but Dachande could tell that neither of them were mocking him with their laughter. "Also close enough." She replied. Dachande vowed to practice her name as well. "So what's yours?" The woman named Machiko asked. At least he could pronounce her name perfectly in his mind.

"Dachande." He clicked at them, giving them his honorary name instead of his real one. He used it more anyway.

The women tried it out. They both butchered his name as well, though they laughed it off. "We'll work on it." The woman named Helena promised. Dachande nodded his head at them, respecting them for trying. Machiko stood up to her full height and the mood became more serious. She was in charge again. "Alright, now that we know each other's names, we should probably go. We've got a ship to blow up." Dachande grew startled reaction at this news. "Blow up? Are we not taking the ship to get out of here?" He asked. Machiko shook her head and faced the back door, talking as she walked. "Those things have infested the ship. Their. . .I'm guessing it's called a 'queen', has made her nest there. We blow the ship up, we blow her up." She explained.

Dachande clicked his mandibles in understanding and Helena added in on it. "We'll be taking an escape pod out of here. We've got fifteen minutes to escape before the ship detonates. We'll have to be in the pod and out of the explosion's radius before that happens." she finished.

They opened up the back door and ran.

As they ran out the back door, the alien bugs began to chase them again. They barely made it to the Lector's drawbridge before the bugs backed off. Machiko and Helena turned and stared at the scene in confusion. "Why are they no longer chasing us?" Helena asked.

"The Queen resides here." Dachande spoke. The women turned and looked at him, so he pointed at the ship's entrance. "The Queen gives off pheromones that keep her other children at bay. She does this to protect her current batch of eggs, and herself. They are just as much of a danger to her as they are to us." Machiko cocked her head at him. "Will they attack her purposefully if she doesn't produce pheromones?" She asked. Dachande shook his head, dreads clanging in the process. "No, but they are not the smartest creatures in the world. The Queen has significantly more wisdom than them, and knows that they are accident prone. Once they track something with the intent to kill it, they go into a frenzy. If they went into this frenzy while positioned in the middle of her eggs, the future generation would be killed off simply from their careless movements."

"So is she the only one we have to worry about in there?" Helena asked. Dachande once again shook his head. "There will be a few patrol drones. Drones that she has deemed responsible enough to be close to her. We have to watch out for those. On rare occasions, if she senses danger, she will call the entire pack to attack. She'll risk the lives of her current eggs over her own life. She can produce more eggs in the future if need be." He rose his hand and pointed at the ship again. "It is best we avoid her as much as possible. If we stay away, there's a chance she won't call the entire pack to come for us."

Machiko tapped her foot on the ramp. "Well that's probably going to be near impossible." Dachande nodded his head at her. "It is."

His heart picked up with the thrill of the hunt looming in. Unlike other species, his kind reveled in the threat of death. To face it head on was honorable and encouraged. Although he would most likely die from this, he'd go down laughing. This was a tale that would go on for generations! . . .If there was anyone to tell it.

"Let's just hurry on with this then." Helena said.

With silent agreement, they all went in.

* * *

"I'll need you two to wait here while I go find the main cabin." Machiko told the other two.

Helena seemed passive about this, but Dachande was ready to protest. It had been a long time since he had trusted anyone in battle. He wasn't sure if he was ready to start now. Before he could open his mouth to protest though, Noguchi pointed at the door behind them. "This is the escape pod. I just need you two to guard it until I get back." "We will." Helena promised. Dachande's irritation grew since she spoke for him without his approval, but Noguchi was already turning and leaving before he could raise a protest.

He turned to Helena, who had already turned her back on him and was facing the other end of the hallway.

Deciding to keep his complaints to himself, he faced his end of the hall and focused on keeping watch. That is, until Helena spoke up. "Hey." She softly said. "How are your ribs feeling?" Dachande blinked in surprise before answering. "They're sore. . ." He vaguely answered. Helena turned her head and peeked at him from over her shoulder. "But not broken again?" "No, they're not broken again." "Good."

The conversation seemed to drop there, but Dachande decided he had a few questions of his own.

He clicked without turning his head to look at her. "I am curious though on why you and your fellow healer had me strapped down when I woke up. I wasn't being held as your prisoner, so why restrain me like one?"  
Helena tossed some hair over her shoulder before answering. "We've had patients in the past who have woken up so violently that they would sometimes damage their already broken ribs further. The worst cases ended up with them puncturing their own lungs. Once we found out that your ribs were broken, we strapped you down so there wasn't a possibility of you waking up like that as well. Sorry if it seemed like we were holding you hostage."

Dachande took a moment to process this information before replying. "Thank you. . .for taking me in. . . .and letting me heal."

Helena turned her head and smiled at him, though he still wasn't looking at her. She turned back around to keep watch, and a thought came to her as she did. "Hey, how did you break your ribs?" She asked. "And end up unconscious." She added.  
Dachande was silent for a while and Helena began to regret asking. She had apparently hit a sensitive topic.

But then he finally answered.

"One of your own sabotaged our ship." He stated. He didn't say it with any malice or anger, just with the tone of one stating a fact. Helena's eyes went wide, heart thumping in her chest. She had a bad feeling she knew who it was. "What did he look like?" She suddenly asked. Dachande rose an eyebrow, but still didn't turn to look. "How did you know it was a male?" He asked back. "Because I'm afraid I know who it was." She admitted, biting her lip. She heard an audible sigh from Dachande before he answered her question. "His flesh was pale like the sand here. He wasn't higher than five feet. . .and what ever that stuff is on your heads, it was brown."

Dachande was surprised to hear Helena laugh behind him. "Hair." She said. "That stuff is called hair."  
'_Oh great, another word I'll have to try and pronounce._' Dachande thought.

Helena wanted to ask him about the dreads on his own head, but thought it best to get back to their topic. "The male you saw was a friend of mine. . .and the husband to the other healer that you saw with me." She softly said. Now Dachande turned and looked at her!

He was completely confused by this news. The mate of his healer had practically sentenced him and his students to death. The healers on his planet often mated other healers because of their shared interests. Was that not the case here?  
Dachande told this to Helena and she shook her head at him. "He was a healer." She replied, confusing him further. Helena frowned at him as she explained. "One of our. . .people found an alien specimen that has never been recorded in all of our history. He brought the specimen to our lab and showed it to the other healers. The one who. . .sabotaged your ship was merely going out to look for more specimens like it. If he sabotaged your ship, I'm sure it was an accident."

"Accident?!" Dachande exclaimed, startling Helena and making her jump. Instead of apologizing, Dachande fumed at this news.

Their ship was blown apart because of an accident?! He was injured and blown into an unconscious state because of an accident?! He felt like roaring in rage. He almost did, if his handle on his emotions weren't as good as they were.

Helena could tell that he was angry and tried to appease him. "Well. . .almost an accident." Dachande whipped around and stared at her so intensely that Helena was almost afraid that he would forget their alliance and attack her. She quickly explained before he could decide to do so. "The man who brought the specimen back lied about where he found it. He ended up sending our healer in your direction in order to throw us off of the actual trail."

Dachande stared at her and Helena took a breath. "If you want the full explanation, that's going to take a while." She tried to appease. "We should probably wait until we're out of here." "We might not live that long." Dachande bit out harshly.

Helena bit her lip. "Is it wise to discuss it when we're trying to keep watch?" she quietly asked. Although Helena couldn't read his facial expressions, Dachande knew that his had softened somewhat. He hadn't meant to be harsh with her. He sighed before answering. "You keep watch of your side and I'll do mine; but please explain to me what happened. . . While we can still understand each other."

Helena nodded at him. "I'll try." She promised. Both now turned around, Helena explained who Ackland was and why he had lied. She also explained how his lie led to their current predicament.

Dachande vowed to kill Ackland by the time Helena was done.

* * *

Noguchi wanted to smack herself on the forehead.

About ten minutes of wondering around and she realized after going in circles three times what the problem was. The escape pod wasn't just an escape pod. It was also the main cabin!  
Spinning on her heels, she immediately began to make her way back to the pair.

She was almost too distracted. By the time the first attack hit, she barely had enough reaction time to defend herself.

The bug dropped down from the ceiling in front of her and hissed, snapping its inner jaws out and nearly nicking her in the jaw. Machiko whipped her gun out and fired, watching with a satisfied feeling as the creature dropped dead. Two more took its place and Machiko fired at them as well. They were the patrol drones for the Queen Dachande had warned her about.

Three more dropped in behind her but instead of shooting, Machiko ran.

They chased after her from behind, but Machiko saw the hatch she had crawled up and slid for it. She almost didn't make it as she felt the claw tips of one of the bug snatch at the ends of her hair. She dropped down and yanked the hatch closed behind her. The circular door fell down and gave a satisfying click to show that it had locked.

Noguchi slid down the ladder and looked to where Dachande and Helena were supposed to be.

To her horror, they weren't alone. Three drones were engaging them in battle and a **very** large bug was heading their way. From the size of her, Mahciko couldn't mistake her for anything other than the Queen.

She had to get the escape pod open!

Meanwhile, Helena and Dachande had seen the drones coming long before and had prepared themselves the best they could for it. Only Dachande heard the Queen coming though, and he didn't have time to warn Helena when the first **Kiande Amedha** attacked.

The two quickly became surrounded by the bunch, but both were doing pretty well holding them off considering the circumstances. Helena still had plenty of bullets left and Dachande's spear made quick work of the bugs, almost as fast as Helena's gun was doing. Both internally acknowledged that Noguchi was slowly making her way towards them. By the time she got to them, the last of the aliens had died. Dachande speared the last one, but still remained vigilant, staring down his part of the hallway expectantly.

"It's time to go!" Machiko said hurriedly as she tried to open the cabin doors.

While she fiddled with that, Dachande tensed as he saw the crested head of the Queen rise up from down the hallway. He aimed his burner and shot once, startling the two _oomans_ behind him. The shot missed her head by a foot and she ducked back down to safety with a roar of rage. Dachande had one last shot in his burner. He** couldn't** mess this one up. Their only hope of surviving a direct attack from the Queen herself would be if his aiming was perfect!

The queen's crest popped into view again but Dachande waited. He needed her to be in full view.

Suddenly, the queen jumped up. While mid-air, Dachande aimed his burner. In a matter of seconds, his gun went off and blasted the bug to bits. The remains splattered on the wall behind it, melting the metal. Dachande opened his mandibles and let out a roar of victory. He did it! He killed a Queen! All with one shot!  
His glory and story would be endless.

His heart practically stopped in his chest when he heard the roar.

No. No, it couldn't be! A decoy! She had sent up one of her drones as a decoy! He had merely killed a drone, and she was still alive!  
The real Queen's head rose up and hissed at him. Dachande gripped his spear harder and took his fighting stance. No one in history had ever taken down a queen with just a spear.

He was determined to be the first.

When Helena and Machiko looked up and saw all that had gone down, their hearts leapt to their throats. They saw the Queen rising to her full height and aimed their guns. Machiko fired first, confident that her heavy duty gun would cause some damage. The bullet ground itself into the Queen's cranium and she let out a roar.  
Dachande, confused by the sound and sudden injury on the Queen, whipped around to see what had caused it.

A fatal mistake.

Helena saw the Queen raise her tail to strike Dachande and ran to intervene while Machiko was still firing. All Dachande saw was a blur before he was shoved into the pod by Helena. He barely had time to register it was her before a yelp of pain escaped her mouth as she was smacked into the wall by the Queen's tail. The force of the blow would have rebroken his ribs!

Dachande's mandibles gapped open as he saw Helena crumble to the floor. The Queen was about to strike her again when Noguchi appeared in the doorway and shot directly into the mouth of the Queen. The Queen roared and Dachande saw Helena barely crawl into the room before he rushed forward and helped her up. Noguchi covered their backs while Dachande brought Helena over to one of the chairs in the room. It was too small for his frame, but perfect for her. The Queen seemed to be retreating, so Noguchi turned and ran for the controls.

She quickly began punching in the codes that Scott had told her. The ones for launching the pod away and for exploding the rest of the ship.

While Machiko worked on that, Helena's dizziness from the blow slowly came down. Her ribs ached, but a gentle prodding from her hand revealed that none were broken. Tender and bruised, but not broken. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, but then gasped in pain as a sudden throbbing hit her side. A heavy hand pressed itself on her shoulder and she looked up to find Dachande staring down at her through his mask.

"Are you injured?" He clicked at her, though to her it sounded like perfect English.

She shook her head at him. "No, just bruised." She gave a humorless laugh. "They might feel broken in the morning though."  
Dachande couldn't help but be proud of her for being in good spirits despite the circumstances. Then he froze as he heard a roar from the Queen again. Dachande didn't even have time to turn around and face her as he felt her claws pierce his shoulder. He opened his mandibles and roared in pain as Helena yelled his name in a terrified yelp.

Machiko took one look over her shoulder before slamming her hand down on a button.

The Queen had her head and one arm sticking through the doorway. She was having trouble getting the rest of her body in. But she managed to grab hold of the flesh of one of her mortal enemies, which caused her great glee! She was about to drag him out to her when a red light flared and suddenly she could see only black.

Machiko watched as the Queen's head fell to the floor as well as the bit of arm she had stuck through the door. The heavy duty doors had snapped down and severed both pieces off. Once it was clear that the Queen was dead, Machiko turned and looked to find Helena crawling towards Dachande. Dachande had fallen to the floor when the Queen had yanked him backwards by his shoulder and he was holding the bleeding flesh with his mandibles clenched tight in pain.

"Dachande?" Helena called as she leaned over him and reached for the Queen's claws still stuck in his shoulder.

Dachande barely had time to register that she had said his name correctly before he let out another roar of pain when Helena ripped the claws out of his shoulder. A warm hand pressed into his wound and held him down tightly. "I'll try to stop the bleeding." She said to him. Reaching behind herself with one hand, she grabbed her bag and pulled it over. She tried to dig for a cloth when Machiko shouted out. "We're lifting off!"

Helena yanked a cloth out just in time to press to Dachande's shoulder when the sudden jolt from the take-off threw them off balance. Dachande's head whipped backwards and slammed into the floor, in which he let out a groan of pain. Helena nearly toppled away from him in the lift off, then scrambled back to his side. Due to previous experience of Noguchi's ability to land a flying vehicle, Helena knew she had to protect Dachande's ribs from the next impact.

Without really thinking about it, Helena heaved his upper body upwards and then slid herself behind and under him.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted to be heard above the noise the escape pod was making. Helena wrapped her arms underneath his and held him close. "Protecting your ribs!" She shouted back.

Dachande didn't have a chance to reply or react before his full weight was suddenly thrown backwards and into her body. The pod came to a crashing land. Machiko yelped from the pilot's seat as she was nearly thrown off.  
Dachande vaguely realized that his head had crashed onto Helena's breasts upon impact when he then understood what she had done. She had used her body to protect his from the hard floor because she knew they were going to crash. Her stomach and thighs were currently keeping his torso off of the floor.

He had survived because of her.

While Dachande was getting himself off of Helena, Machiko stood up from the seat and shakily walked to the door. Ignoring the Queens head that had toppled around nearby, Machiko opened the door and stepped outside. She looked in the direction of the Lector. It was going to explode any minute.

Three minutes later, there was a bright light in the distance. Machiko watched as a cloud of smoke rose into the sky before she turned around and headed back inside. She went over to the other two, who by now were conversing with each other. "Are you two alright?" She asked. She took a seat next to them as both nodded at her. "The Lector has exploded." She informed them. Helena sighed in relief and flopped backwards on the floor. "And the others?" She asked form her spot.  
"Safe in the desert." Machiko confirmed. "Good." Helena replied. Machiko bit her lip before continuing. "There's just one problem." Helena tilted her head up and looked at Machiko with a raised eyebrow. Machiko gestured towards the door of the pod.

"The explosion was bigger than I thought. It blew up Prosperity Wells."

Helena suddenly sat up and looked at Machiko with wide eyes. "Everything?!"  
Noguchi nodded at her. "Everything. . ." Helena frowned and plopped back down. "Great. . .We'll have to wait for the troops to come rescue us. . .how long until they get here?" ". . .Five months. . ." Machiko answered. Helena let out a groan of frustration before closing her eyes and covering her face with her hands. She wasn't going to cry, but her frustration was quickly piling up.

Dachande had gotten up to look out of the door during their conversation. When he came back, he took a deep sigh and sat down by them both. They paused their talking and looked over at him.

"I want to thank both of you." He softly clicked at them. "My students betrayed me and left me for dead. You took me in and helped me to heal the best you could. Adding on to all of what has happened within the last few hours, I don't think I could ever repay you two." The women tilted their heads at him as if he were speaking nonsense. But the woman named Helena shook her head. "You don't have to repay us. Despite what's happened, I'm glad we met you." She sent him a soft smile. Machiko simply nodded to show that she agreed with Helena, but Dachande shook his head.

"I think I know of a way. You both have earned it from battling the _Kiande Amedha_."

Before either of them could ask what he was doing, Dachande reached over and grabbed the Queen's severed hand. Breaking off a finger joint, he pointed at the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. "This is a symbol of honor. You only earn it when you've made your first kill of the _Kiande Amedha_. The both of you have made more than one kill today." Then he looked at Machiko especially. "And you have killed a Queen. One of the highest honors that could be gained amongst my kind."

He pointed at the severed finger. "I would like to mark you both. Not only will this show that you both have gained glory and honor, but it will also show that to my kind, you are allies and fellow hunters. . .so will you accept the mark of my clan?" He softly but proudly asked.

Machiko and Helena looked at each other and silently agreed about their answer. They looked back at Dachande and nodded. "Yes." They said at the same time.

Dachande gestured for Machiko to come foreword. "Then from this day on, amongst my kind you will be known as **Da'dtou-di**, for 'small knife'. I hope to have the pleasure of hunting with you once more." He felt it appropriate that she have a name similar to his honorary one. With the tip of the severed finger, he slowly drew the lightning bolt mark into her forehead. He watched her wince from the sudden pain, but she didn't move her head. She staid perfectly still, thankfully.

Once she was done, he gestured towards Helena.

Helena scooted towards him and Dachande patiently waited for her. He knew her side was still hurting. With the tip of the finger hovering over her forehead, he named her too. "From this day foreword, you shall be known as **Yeyinda** amongst my kind. I hope to have the honor of hunting with you once more." And with that, he marked her. He felt it appropriate to give her a form of his name as well, since his actual name is Yeyinde. She was just given the feminine form. He set the severed finger on the ground and looked back at her. "It means, 'brave one'."

Much to his surprise, the woman leaned forward and hugged him. Dachande was baffled by her behavior and looked at Da'dtoudi for help, but she just shrugged at him. Helena suddenly let go of him and giggled. "Sorry." She said, voice sounding thick. "That was a sign of affection amongst my kind. Or in this case, a sign of gratitude." She leaned back. "I hope you didn't mind." Dachande tilted his head at her, but then shook it after pondering this for a bit. "No, I don't mind. . .you said a sign of gratitude?" Helena nodded at him, and then Dachande awkwardly leaned foreword and hugged her back. "Then I thank you as well."

Dachande gave Machiko a hug as well before they all sat down and had an in depth talk with each other. There was a lot of deciding on what to do next.

They had the next five months to figure it out.

* * *

**(End of Part 1)**

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**ooman**: human

-**Kiande Amedha**: Hard meat (Xenomorphs)

-**Da'dtou-di**: The feminine name for '_small knife_'.

\- **Yeyinda**: Brave one (The feminine form of Yeyinde.)

_This concludes part 1 of this story!_

_No I am not starting a whole new book after this part. Part two will still be in this book. So until the next chapter, I shall be busy writing it._

_See you next time!_


	9. (Epilogue of Part 1)

Dachande watched the little creature scurry in front of him before raising his spear.

It wasn't much more than a mouthful, but it would keep him sustained long enough to hunt something bigger. He was low on energy at the moment.  
Gripping his spear, he shot his arm forward and let the weapon fly. His aim was true and the creature let out a squeal of surprise and pain before collapsing to the ground. Dachande walked forward to collect his prize and meal.

Picking the fresh carcass up, he set the meat on a nearby flat-top rock and began to skin it. Once that was accomplished, he ripped bits and pieces of meat off with his talons and began to snack on it.

Looking back towards the direction he had come from, his superior sight allowed him to see the building that his ****ooman**** companions called a 'house'. He grumbled in irritation as he looked at it, reminding himself why he was out here hunting in the first place and not back there.  
His _ooman_ companions had several beasts back at their abode, all of which the women refused to let him eat. Four great large beasts that they called 'rhynth', an overly hyper creature called a 'dog', and a creature called a 'chicken' which produced tasty eggs.  
Dachande could understand why they wouldn't let him eat the chicken and the dog. The chicken provided food daily, and he found it a great treat to eat. The dog reminded him of his species' own 'dogs' back on his planet. Companion animals that were eager to please and loyal beyond anything a sapient species was capable of. Dachande found the dog delightful, and was happy to find that the dog liked him back.

It was the rhynth that caused him to grumble.

The women claimed that they were for breeding purposes, but so far , Dachande hadn't seen them breed at all in the past two years. In fact, he was pretty sure that their little herd were all sterile. He tried to point this out to the women, but they still wouldn't let him kill and eat the creatures. "We'll wait one more year." Yeyinda had tried to pacify him. "If they don't have any children by then, we'll let you eat them."

So now Dachande was out hunting for their meal while the women did their own business at the 'house'.

He didn't mind the hunting. It kept him in shape and sane. What he didn't like was that he wasn't going to taste a rhynth steak again, like the one Yeyinda had fed him when he and she had first met. It was delicious and he really wanted another one.

Oh well. Right now he had to focus on getting their current meal back to them.

Dachande finished off his snack and moved on.

* * *

Noguchi stared at the screen in front of her and sighed. She couldn't think of what else to write. They hadn't done much that day, but she knew this was a necessary task.

A year ago, her life had basically gone to hell. She had just become the new overseer for the residents on the planet Ryushi and everything went downhill from there. Alien invasion combined with a couple hundred people dead caused the residents to take the first flight back to earth. Accept for Noguchi and Helena.

Both girls decided to stay behind with their 'guest', who couldn't come with them back to earth even if they wanted him to.

He was stranded on Ryushi, with no hope of going home himself. He just had to wait for his people to come back and eventually pick him up. Noguchi had already known that she wasn't going back. There was nothing left for her on earth. Maybe her mother, but they weren't close. Not anymore.

Helena was a different story. She did have family she was close to back on earth. During the five months it took for a rescue team to come on a ship and pick the residents up, she had struggled with deciding on staying or going with them.  
Eventually, she decided to stay. Her excuse was that Noguchi and Dachande would need a doctor on hand, just in case. Noguchi knew that she had just grown attached to them and didn't want to say goodbye to her two new friends. Noguchi wasn't complaining about it though. It'd just be awkward if it were just her and Dachande on this planet. Having another human being nearby really helped her with the solitude she felt.  
A sentence she never thought she would ever say.

"Machiko!" Helena yelled from down stairs. "Come on down and take a break from the log! I could use your help in here."

Machiko let out a reluctant sigh before pushing herself away from the computer and going downstairs to meet Helena. She found the tall woman in the kitchen, bent over a notebook and scribbling on a pad of paper nearby. Once the woman had met Dachande, she had been determined to learn about his anatomy and physiology. Since she was already a doctor to humans, being his doctor was her next goal. Dachande had helped her learn the best he could, but his own knowledge was limited. He wasn't a doctor himself, and only knew the basics of his own anatomy. She did the best with what she had, though she craved more.

Machiko stopped by the stairs and looked out at Helena. "What'd you need help with?" She asked.

Helena looked up and smiled at her before reaching down beside herself. She suddenly tossed something at Machiko, who caught it without even blinking. It was a spear, one that Dachande had fashioned for them. Helena held up another one and pointed towards the door. "I was going to go join Dachande on his hunt. I was wondering if you'd like to join?"

Machiko took one look at the spear and nodded. She needed to get out of the house.

"Good!" Helena picked her own spear up and faced the door. "Let's go."

Machiko chuckled as she followed the woman out of the house and into the wild.

* * *

Dachande stood still as he heard the women approach him.

In the two years that he'd known them, they've become experienced hunters under his guidance, but stealth still wasn't their strong suit. He could hear them coming from a mile away. Luckily, he hadn't found any significant prey yet, or else it would have grown startled and run away by now from the noise.  
It might just be an _ooman_ thing.

Da'dtou-di was the first to reach him. Despite being the smallest of the two _oomans_, she was the swiftest. Precise with her movements, Da'dtou-di was very good at dodging, weaving, and moving through the underbrush. Yeyinda had a harder time with that do to her large size. She almost reached to Dachande's head, but she never had the same training as him in controlling her movements. She made up for it with her strength and patients. She could sit for hours in one spot waiting for a target to pass, without moving a muscle. Da'dtou-di had a little more trouble with that. She definitely didn't like to sit still.

Dachande could spend hours pointing out their good qualities and the qualities they both needed to work on, but right now, that wasn't where his attention was.

His attention was on the sky, and the bright burst of light he was watching fall like a shooting star in the distance. His heart leapt to his throat when he saw it. He knew exactly what it was! He couldn't help but give a roar of triumph, causing Da'dtou-di and Yeyinda to jump beside him. The women looked at him with concern.

"Did we scare off your prey?" Yeyinde asked with worry.

Dachande shook his head and gently grabbed her shoulder. Guiding her closer to him, he pointed past her head and towards the spot in the sky he had been observing. Both women looked in the direction he pointed and gapped at the sight. Dachande's upper mandibles lifted in a giddy grin. "They're here." He declared in a quiet voice. '_I'm finally going home._' He thought.

Instead of looks of joy, both women had looks of quiet sadness; Da'dtou-di's being more subtle, but still there. He tilted his head at them curiously. Before he could ask them about it, Yeyinda spoke up.

"I guess you'll be going home now. . ." She quietly said. She tried to smile at him, but her eyes didn't lie. Da'dtou-di remained silent, but her expression was much the same. They both didn't want him to go.  
Dachande tilted his head at them and nodded. "Yes, I am. . .though, forgive me if I didn't make it obvious, but you two are invited to come and join my clan and I." Their expressions changed in an instant. Mostly shock, but Dachande could see that they were happy as well. Yeyinda let out a laugh of joy and smiled at him. "We weren't sure." She admitted. "If we weren't allowed to come, we were just going to head back to earth after this." Da'dtou-di nodded, confirming what Yeyinda had said.

Dachande lifted his mandibles in a smile at them and gestured with his hand towards the direction that the ship had flown. "Then will you both come?" He asked again.

Noguchi and Helena shared one look before nodding at each other and then looking back at him. "Yes." They both said simultaneously.

Dachande nodded back and then all three turned to make their way towards the descending ship.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Ooman**: human

_I hope you all enjoyed this! Let me know what you think of this story so far in the comments below!_


	10. (Part 2)In Which an Explanation is Given

Of Monsters, Magic and Miracles (part 2) Explanation.

Part 2 of this fanfiction takes place in S.D. Perry's novel Alien vs. Predator War.

In this novel, after Dachande's death and Machiko's marking, a second group of predators come to the Ryushi planet in order to find out what happened to Dachande and his students. They find Machiko and once they see Dachande's mark on her forehead, they reluctantly bring her into the clan. She is out-casted and humiliated at nearly any chance the clan gets to do so. After a barely successful Queen hunt thanks to her efforts and a painful realization about the aliens she had been living with for nearly two years now, she finally cuts the ties with them in the worst way possible and leaves.

This ends S.D. Perry's book.

But now Dachande isn't dead and she has Helena by her side to keep the loneliness at bay. She used to hate having to interact with other humans, but now it's the only thing keeping her sane. Will Dachande just being alive be enough to keep the clan from misbehaving? Will the presence of another human actually be enough to tolerate living with the aliens anymore?

And more importantly, will The Witch let them leave if they decide to do so?

Let's be honest, probably not.

* * *

_Author's note: I will be working on the chapter immediately after posting this._


	11. Chapter8 In Which They're Alone

The now familiar ship-wide alarm went off, signaling everyone on board that it was time for a shift change. If you were asleep, it was your turn to wake up and work, and vice-versa.

Machiko Noguchi had been asleep when the alarm went off. She groaned and flipped over on her 'bed', staring up at the ceiling as she internally debated with herself. Should she even get up? It's not like the others would notice that she wasn't around. Then again, she didn't want to give them any opportunity to make an example out of her. They had enough of that already, especially when she had first arrived and knew nothing.

Reluctantly, Machiko rolled out of her bed and started to get dressed.

Two years of living with the aliens and she still wasn't quite used to wearing their clothes. They wore loin cloths instead of things like pants and boxers. Machiko wasn't a thong person in the first place, but wearing a loin cloth sure felt like one.  
They didn't wear shirts either. The closest to them was their armor tops, and no one wanted to sleep in those. Machiko and Helena were given these bra-looking tops that was apparently traditional garb for the females of their race. Made of leather, the things had plenty of straps that Machiko almost wanted to ask if they had borrowed the design from some human BDSM outfits.  
They served their purpose though. Helena had even commented that it was the most support she had ever felt from a bra; even her previous sports bras weren't that sturdy.

They were still a pain in the butt to put on though.

Machiko finally tied the last strap to her clothes and left her room, making her way to Helena's. Thanks to them being blooded, they both got the luxury of having their own rooms. Machiko secretly thought that it was mostly so the aliens didn't have to be around them as much.  
Either way, both parties were grateful.

Helena was waiting outside her door when Machiko arrived.

The familiar loneliness that they were both accustom to by now slipped away for a moment once they saw each other. Hurrying back into Helena's room, they both took a moment to enjoy each other's company. Even If it was in silence, they both knew it was needed. They flopped down on Helena's bed and rested for a moment, not saying anything.

After a while, Helena was the first to speak. "He still hasn't come back?" Machiko mutely shook her head 'no' and Helena gave a sigh of disappointment.

Two years ago, shortly after Machiko and Helena had arrived on the ship, Dachande had to leave back to his home planet. They got to have him on board for four months before another ship was sent to pick him up and take him to have an audience with their species's head leaders. A tribe of ancients that dictated all the laws and codes of their world.  
Before even arriving on Ryushi nearly four years ago, Dachande had put in a request to captain a ship of blooded warriors only. He was done teaching the unbloodeds and wanted to move on with his hunting quests. Thanks to his disappearance on that planet however, his ability to handle a full blooded warrior ship was questioned, and he was called back in order to reinstate his argument that he could lead a ship like that. And of course, to explain what had happened during what was supposed to be his last 'teaching' hunt.

He hasn't been back since.

Helena only asked Machiko this since her room was closer to the other aliens and she would probably hear of his arrival first.

"We better go." Machiko said. "I'd rather not be in charge of cleaning up the dojo just because we were late." Helena scuffed beside her. "Yeah, but let's be real. They'll find some other reason for us to do it anyway."  
Machiko stayed silent, but in her head, she agreed with her.

After a few more minutes of laying there, the two finally got up and left the comfort of the room to go train with people that were still strangers to them.

* * *

"Of course they didn't tell us there was a clan meeting today." Helena glared at the crowd in front of them, bitterness obvious in her tone.

They had walked down to the ship's 'dojo' and found no one there, which was odd. Then they realized that it only happened when there was a meeting going on in the ship's main room. A place used for social events, mostly. Announcements as well, obviously.  
They had quickly made their way there once they realized what was going on.

The crowd quieted as they entered, making the tension in the room awkward as attention was trained on their arrival. Small and hushed clicks sounded around the room, and the women were familiar enough with it to know that it was their form of laughter. They were laughing at the human girls.

Topknot stood on a platform in front of the room above the crowd. He glared at the girls as they entered and made a couple of clicks with his mandibles that caused the whole room to erupt into more obvious mockery. He had probably let out some wisecrack about their tardiness being relevant to their human species.

The girls couldn't tell. Sadly the Witch only granted the gift of translation between them and Dachande, and not to the rest of his kind.

Lucky them.

The room finally quieted down to let Topknot speak. The girls called him Topknot because he had his fleshy dreadlocks tied up in a traditional Japanese Samurai style. In Dachande's absence, Topknot was the leader of their clan. It had been obvious that he and Dachande didn't quite agree on most things. Dachande just barely surpassed him in authority, and Topknot hated that fact with a passion. He almost had a full on fight to the death with him when he found out that Dachande was bringing **oomans** on board, no matter how worthy they were. Sadly for him, Dachande was significantly smarter and more skilled in combat. If he didn't want to suffer a humiliating defeat in front of his clan members, he'd have to keep his mouth shut on the matter.

He certainly didn't keep it shut now that Dachande was absent.

The girls watched as he looked at the crowd and spoke in their language. He'd press buttons on his gauntlet every now and then and holographic images would pop up for everyone to see. By the time he was done speaking, the point of the meeting was clear.  
They were going to capture a Queen bug and it was time to get ready for it.

Machiko had suspected that this hunt was going to happen soon. The previous Queen bug that they had imprisoned on their ship had become infertile a long while ago. Once she had stopped producing eggs, Topknot had let her go onto some remote planet and had let the few blooded warriors on the ship hunt after her, himself included. Machiko and Helena had voluntarily stayed out of that hunt, and knew Topknot didn't want them there in the first place.

Now they had to capture a new queen, which was more dangerous than trying to kill one. Killing one, you could go all out. Capturing one meant taking precautions to try and not kill her while also not getting killed by her.

Machiko and Helena knew they'd be on this hunt, at least.

* * *

Machiko and Helena were supposedly alone in the hallway leading to their room when Machiko got shoved from behind.

She easily caught her balance, but both girls whipped around and glared at their attacker.

A group of Yautja trilled their mandibles in laughter as the real attacker, Shorty, smiled maliciously at Machiko.  
Shorty was a young unblooded Yautja who got his nickname for being just that, short. He was barely a head taller than Machiko and the other Yautja harassed him for it whenever they could. Now that Machiko was here, however, he took his aggression out on her because of it. Now that she was the shortest member of the clan, Shorty did everything he could to make that fact obvious so the bullying could stay off of him. It worked, sadly.

He tried that crap with Helena, but it was a huge mistake. He thought he could still push her around despite her being a couple feet taller than him, claiming that all Yautjas were better than _oomans_, no matter what. He found out real quick just how fast and how accurate her high kicks were.

He had a black eye for a weak, which none of his 'friends' ever let him live down.

Now he stood there in front of them with his 'friends' having his back. Helena and Machiko knew the odds were against them. If it was just Shorty, sure. They could take him easily. But he had four of his taller buddies behind him, and that was no where near doable. They all reached Helena's height, three of them surpassing her by at least five inches. The other was her level exactly.

No where near a fair fight.

Machiko looked out of the corner of her eye and saw that Helena was about to charge them anyway. The woman had a tendency to lead with her heart and not with her head some times. Right now, her heart was telling her that she was mad and that she needed to avenge her friend. She was about to tackle Shorty when she felt Machiko's hand on her arm. Looking down at her friend, Machiko shook her head at Helena with a knowing frown. They stared at each other for a moment before Helena let out a defeated sigh. Together, they turned and walked away.  
Shorty and his buddies laughed at their retreat. To go even further, they mocked the girl's human form of laughter. Making braying and chuffing sounds, they called out comments about how the two of them were cowards and should know their place.

Even though the girls didn't know exactly what they were saying, they knew that their retreat was being commented on.

They didn't look back and their hearts slowly grew colder and colder as the day went on.

* * *

**Vk'leita** shook his head and felt his dreads smack against his bare shoulders.

It'd been a while since he'd let his dreads down, but that was to be expected when you had other responsibilities. Being the leader of a ship full of unblooded had plenty of them.

In the privacy of his own room, he stripped down out of his old loin cloth and changed into a cleaner one. Then he set about getting his armor on, a task he still found annoying, considering his was a little more old fashioned. Many pieces required to be fastened in some way in the back. It was a hassle to do unless you had a partner to do it for you. Not impossible, but still annoying.

The sudden thought of a partner brought on a familiar longing in his chest, but he quickly dashed the thoughts aside.  
If **Paya** thought it wasn't time yet, then it wasn't time. Even if it did seem like an eternity since his sight blessing. . .

Vk'leita shook his head one more time and quickly strapped on his armor. He had more important things to do.

Like leading his students and the blooded on a hunt for the Queen.

* * *

**Lar'nix'va** took leave of his comrades as soon as the opening had presented itself.

After he had shoved the smallest _ooman_, Da'dtou-di, and had made merry at the sight of her retreat, he and his companions had walked off to their own part of the ship. Like many times before, they had discussed the insane idea Dachande had about letting them on board. Nothing they could have done could have possibly made them worthy enough to enter amongst their ranks! They were nowhere near their level! And then the added insult of blooding them as his last students. . .

Yeah, they were bitter about it. After Dachande's return, he had announced that he would never give the mark to another student again. Da'dtou-di and Yeyinda would be his last. When asked why, he simply said that his previous students were not only all failures, but the worst kind of Yautja as well. He didn't explain what he meant and he refused to teach any more students because of them.

And though he never said this part, it was clear that he also never trusted another Yautja again. He had only trusted the girls, those filthy **lou-dte kale**, and had spent more time with them than he did with his own in the short time he was back on the ship.

Lar'nix'va and his comrades talked about all of this and more, until the conversation got boring with the same topic. Eventually, it ended with the way it always ended. Jokes and taunts about Lar'nix'va's height.  
He shouldered the comments and jabs well, though his temper was close to causing him to lash out. When the opportunity presented itself, he slipped away and made his way to his bed spot in the pit.

The pit was an open section of the ship where all the unblooded slept. It afforded no privacy and no boundaries from the other Yautja on board. Some of them got creative and found ways to give themselves a mediocre amount of privacy, he being one of them.  
There were no official rules on where to sleep, so there were no assigned areas. That being said, there were no official off-limits areas as well.

Lar'nix'va grabbed his rolled up mat from the racks and made his way to his spot. Or more precisely, climbed his way to his spot.

He slept up in the rafters of the ship. The beams were just barely big enough to hold his weight and his frame comfortably. The others were too big, and they couldn't fit on one if they tried. The others knew he had his own private spot up there, but thankfully didn't contest him for it. Thanks to that, Lar'nix'va could keep a few precious belongings up there without them being disturbed.

Climbing to a secluded beam in the middle of the ceiling, he rolled out his mat and laid down. A couple of his other treasures lay scattered nearby. Reaching over, he grabbed the one that he had kept private the most.

It was a drawing he had done when he was younger, just after his sight blessing. . .and his encounter with the Witch.  
The picture was of a beautiful female Yautja. Nothing else, just her. He had drawn it in the hopes of remembering what she looked like in the future. If he ever found her, he wanted to make sure that he could recognize her the moment he laid his eyes on her.

Longing for her to come into his life encased his heart. He had been searching for her for years, but could not find her in any of the nearby clans. She must live in one of the clans further away from main ones. Once he was blooded, he would have the freedom to go find her at his will.

But that was just it. He needed to be blooded first.  
With that thought in mind, he hid the picture once more and got dressed into his armor.

The hunt for the Queen had to come first.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

\- **oomans: **Humans

-**Paya: ** The name of their God. Paya, Warrior God of the Hunt and Thunder.

\- **lou-dte kale: **A slur for females. Kind of like calling them a Bi***.

-**Lar'nix'va**: The one who the girls have nicknamed as Shorty because of his height. He's almost two feet shorter than the other Yautja.

-**Vk'leita**: The one who the girls named Topknot. Current leader of the clan, he wears his dreads in a traditional Japanese Samurai style.

_I'm sorry this is late! The weekends are getting booked. I'll try and update again soon!_


	12. Chapter9 In Which They Hunt

Machiko knocked on Helena's door and then entered before the other woman could give a response.

Helena was in the middle of putting a small picture frame away when her now only friend came in. Machiko caught a glimpse of it and decided to ask her about it later when she had the chance. Right now she went to help Helena put her armor pieces on. She walked to Helena's back and did the clasps for her. "Thanks." Helena muttered sheepishly. Despite the heavy air in the room, Machiko allowed herself to chuckle. "You really have to work on your flexibility." She commented. Helena made an indignant sound that was supposed to be humorous. "I am flexible! I'm just not coordinated enough to do the straps without seeing them." "Sure you are."

They both giggled for a moment before the nagging reminder that the hunt was in a few minutes came down on them.

It wasn't the Queen they were dreading.

They laid on Helena's bed for a moment, silent and breathing slowly as the only sound came from Helena's chicken, Cluck, whom Dachande had allowed them to take on board since he had grown fond of eating her eggs. Her nest lay tucked away in a corner and Helena had created a makeshift coop for her to keep her contained. Thankfully, she wasn't a loud squawker, most of the time.

Machiko sighed as she unwillingly rolled herself out of bed and looked down at her friend. She held a hand down to her and motioned with her other one towards the door. "We better go." She said. Helena sighed as well and took her offered hand to help herself up.

They both left the room and made their way to the 'main' room on the ship where the hunt would begin.

* * *

The terrain was one of the hottest that Machiko and Helena had ever experienced.

Part of the Yautja armor consisted of a mesh suit that could control the temperature inside of it. They wore it to planets that had less than favorable temperatures in the atmosphere. It was usually used to keep the yautja warm, but in this case, they had to keep it colder than normal to combat the heat of the planet.  
The yautja were cold blooded. Their bodies could handle heat significantly better than a humans. They barely had to lower the temperature in their mesh suits to keep from getting too hot. Machiko and Helena on the other hand, couldn't get the temperature to go down low enough. They were still sweating buckets while their companions were barely breaking a sweat.

They refused to become drowsy from it though. How could they when they were being attacked by** Kiande Amedha** on all sides?

The black bugs that inhabited the women's nightmares surrounded the entire hunting group and attacked at every opportunity they could. With their burners shooting plasma bolts at the parasites, the hunting party were able to keep the bugs away from the main group in front.  
There were two groups. The one in the front were the ones who had the task of securing the Queen and tying her down to be brought onto the ship. Only the blooded got the honor of being in the first group. The second group did the guarding job. They keep the pathway clear while the Queen is being captured. The unblooded all got that job. The first group got the most honor in this hunt, as capturing a live Queen required more skill than killing her.

Machiko and Helena were always stuck with the second group.

After about twenty minutes of hard trekking and fighting, the _Kiande amedha_ finally cleared up enough that the two groups could see the den to the Queen. Thanks to the Queen's own pheromones, the rest of the bugs kept well clear of her nest. They wouldn't risk the lives of her future eggs unless she demanded it.

Topknot lead the group to the cave's entrance and then stopped them there. With hand signals and quiet clicks, he got the second team into formation inside and outside of the cave. Even though the bugs had backed off, the Queen could still command them to attack at any time. The yautja positioned inside the cave would follow the first group down to the nest and would defend against any sentry guards.

Machiko and Helena were placed with the others tasked with following the first team down into the den.

They got about ten yards before the attack hit them.  
The Queen's few trusted sentry guards sprang out from their hiding places amongst the rocks and immediately their burner's began to shoot the creatures. Roars and hisses pounded off of the rocks as a short battle was fought. In record time, the battle was over.  
Or so they thought.

Shorty didn't see it as one last bug leapt from the ceiling and knocked him to the ground.

Falling on his back, Shorty stared up at the bug as it snapped it's second pair of fangs at him. He had a moment to panic before closing his eyes and accepting his fate. If he was to die now, then he'd accept it honorably.  
The bug reared its head and was about to bring it down when a plasma blast severed it's neck from its shoulders. All were silent for a moment as every yautja took in what had just happened. They saw Da'dtou-di lower her burner as the body of the bug she had killed collapsed to the ground beside their comrade. They saw Yeyinda clap her on the back and then it dawned on them what had happened.

Da'dtou-di just saved Lar'nix'va from an honorable death.

Lar'nix'va stood up and glared at Da'dtou-di, who glared right back at him. She didn't know why she saved him. Only that her instincts told her to.  
From the looks on everyone's faces, she was beginning to regret it.  
She looked over to find Topknot stomp his way over to Shorty and slap him on the back of the head. When Shorty turned to snap at him, Topknot quickly cut him off by rapidly clicking at him. Probably chewing him out for not being aware of his surroundings.  
When Topknot pointed at Machiko while still motioning to Shorty, Machiko knew what was going on.

Machiko was taking Shorty's place in the ranks.

Machiko and Helena had been placed in the very back of the team. The very back positions left little prey for them to kill. It was the least honorable spot amongst them all. Shorty was one position ahead of them, but not anymore.  
Deep inside, Machiko silently smirked to herself in victory as she watched Shorty angrily stomp his way back to her spot. Holding her head high, she moved foreword and took up his place, right in front of Helena. Helena reached foreword and squeezed Machiko's arm warmly as she smiled down at her friend. Shorty glared at them both from behind Helena's tall frame.

The group pressed on despite the loud interruption.

* * *

The Queen's den was huge and covered in the corpses of the victims used to feed her.

The guarding team were positioned at the entrance while Topknot and his team of blooded pressed on to secure the Queen. Machiko and Helena were both supposed to be facing the entrance and guarding that instead, but they both had an ear trained on the commotion behind them. The group was struggling to tie up the Queen.  
Ropes were tied into slip knots and lassoed over her limbs before they finally got a good enough grip on her to bring her down. Using their combined strength, the yautja all pulled on the rope and brought her low to the ground while Topknot moved over to her egg sac. He'd have to cut it off if they were going to transport her. Luckily, the sac would grow back.

Before he even raised his knife to her sac, the Queen saw an opportunity to escape.

One of the Yautja holding the rope to a hind leg was caught day dreaming. He had let the rope grow slack and the Queen felt it. Using her powerful strength, she yanked the rope from out of his grasp and caused him to tumble foreword. Before anyone could do anything, her leg came down on his ribs and completely crushed him.

Her leg was loose and soon the rest of her would be as well.

Machiko and Helena whipped their heads around when they heard the noise of the Queen roaring her freedom. The yautja were scrambling to get her under control, but none of them could get to the rope that would keep her leg bound.  
Machiko made a choice in that moment after giving it a second of thought. If they couldn't get the Queen under control soon, the mission would be botched and they could all possibly die if she rampaged.

Dashing to the rope, Machiko grabbed it and yanked on it as hard as she could. The Queen let out a whine as she felt her leg become bound again. She yanked on it hard and it nearly threw Machiko off. She was saved from that fate by someone else taking up the rope and helping to pull behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she found Helena by her side. The large woman leaned all of her weight against the rope and Machiko quickly did the same. A vicious game of tug of war took place until another yautja came over and finally took over for them. With a snarl, the nameless hunter ripped the rope from their hands and took their spot in securing the Queen.  
The two girls looked at each other and nearly hugged one another for saving the mission when Topknot walked over to them. For a moment both girls stared at him and he back at them until he raised his hand in the air. . .

. . .and brought his palm down hard against Machiko's face.

Machiko was thrown back by the force and landed with a spin on the floor in a heap. Helena let out a sound of sudden shock and fear as she bent to go to her friend's aid. Before she could even reach her, however, Topknot backhanded her across the face and away from Machiko, knocking her over and onto the floor as well.

During a hunt, one rule was maintained and enforced more than any of the others.

Follow the commands of your leader. If you disobey, you take whatever punishment is given to you. Machiko and Helena abandoned their posts, even if it did save the mission and the lives of the team. Topknot was not going to let them get away with that. Especially not with the rest of the hunting party watching.  
He would not allow his authority to be challenged for any reason.

Topknot left them there on the floor while he went back to monitoring the capture of the Queen.

Slowly, Machiko and Helena got back up. They shared one look with each other and that was all they needed to see to know what was going on inside the head of the other.  
Slowly, very slowly, the both of them became harder in their hearts. Any love or comradeship they felt for this clan was being sucked away daily. There was little left.  
They were close to breaking.

The girls got back up and returned to their posts.

* * *

On the ramp leading up to the entrance of the ship, the Queen struggled for her life against the ropes.

At this point, Machiko and Helena were focused on just staying out of the team's way. Once they were on the ramp, the Queen was hauled inside and the job of the second team was done once the doors were closed.  
Machiko and Helena walked ahead of the group as they focused on subduing the Queen. They made their way to the 'nest'. A holding cell that would house the Queen and keep her bound while her egg production would be controlled by the will of the ship's leader.

The girls stood near the entrance to the holding cell. The hunt wouldn't officially be dismissed until the Queen was safely stored away. They would have to stick around until that happened.

Sadly, luck wasn't on their side.

The ship was much more cramped than her den. There was less room to maneuver and keep her restrained. And that meant the ropes could go slack if not adjusted properly. The team wasn't exactly paying attention to their grips at the moment.

The Queen broke free once more.

Rearing her head and leaping to her feet, the Queen quickly assessed her situation. Charge into her awaiting enemies and get killed, or go towards the area that looked essentially empty to her.  
She chose the empty cell.

She charged at the cell, causing Machiko and Helena to react in a split second. With no room or time to run to the sidelines, they turned and ran into the cell, the Queen chasing after them.  
The Queen let out a roar as she had a new target in mind. The two creatures running from her that would make good hosts for her new children. Lowering her head, she sped up and tried to capture them, but the creatures were surprisingly nimble. They both turned at once and slipped past her on either side, running back in the direction she had come from.

Helena and Machiko ran like the wind back towards the door. If they could get out of there, they could capture the Queen inside.

Sadly, the yautja had other ideas.

Before either could reach the door, a signal was sent from Topknot and the door was slammed shut with both of them still inside. Machiko had a moment to register Helena's impressive swearing at them before whipping around on her heel and facing the Queen. The big bug had slipped onto her side in an attempt to do a sharp turn to follow them, but she was already getting back up.  
Machiko had to think of something fast!

Just as the Queen was half way to them, an idea came to her. Up! If they go up, they could get out of the 'nest' by cutting their way through the ceiling mesh and escaping while the Queen remained trapped.

"Helena!" She shouted, grabbing her friend's attention who was focused on the Queen's charge. Helena whipped her head around and stared at Machiko for a moment as she pointed towards the ceiling.  
"Loop her around one last time, then climb up!" She shouted, already beginning to run. With the Queen's roaring, Helena almost didn't hear her. Thankfully she did anyway, and began to run with Machiko towards the Queen as well. Just as the Queen was about to get them, they ducked down and slid under her body, watching from below as her momentum carried her large body forward and over their heads.

The Queen slid onto her side again and the girls immediately grabbed onto nearby chains and started climbing.

Letting out a roar of outrage, the Queen saw her prey attempting to escape and got back onto her feet. Snapping her inner mouth out in irritation, she charged after the two climbers who were already beginning to get out of reach for her.

Helena reached the top first. Lifting her arm, she used the blades in her gauntlet to start slicing through the wire mesh that made up the ceiling of the Queen's holding cell. Machiko was right behind her until she felt vicious claws dig into her hair. Letting out a yell of pain, Machiko strained her neck against the hold as the Queen tried to rip her down from the ceiling. Just as Helena got the mesh off, Machiko reached down. Using her own gauntlet blades, she sliced the hand of the Queen clean off and watched it fall from the tresses forming the dreadlocks of her long hair.

The Queen now fell to the floor in pain and Helena shouted for Machiko to hurry.

Machiko leapt and cleared the hole easily, landing beside Helena who helped her sit up once her friend was safely out of there. They both looked down for a moment to see the Queen get tangled up in the hanging chains before turning and sliding down to the floor below.

Once they hit the tiles, they looked up to find the clan all staring at them.

Machiko and Helena didn't know what to expect. They saved the mission, and they helped secure the Queen in her cell when she went after them into the chains. Maybe they expected some recognition? Maybe they expected just a small nod of respect for their deeds, or even a jealous look or two.

They got something worse.

Topknot approached them out of the crowd and stared at them for a moment. His reaction would set the tone for how the rest of the crowd reacted. Both girls were internally begging him to show some mercy. To maybe show even a hint of acknowledgement so that the rest of the clan would at least leave them alone from the taunting and harassing.

He provided neither.

Instead he turned on his heel and walked away, not clicking a word or giving a motion of admission to their bravery.  
The rest of the clan followed his example. They turned their backs on the girls and walked away.

The girls just watched as they were left behind.

* * *

Back in Helena's room, the girls sat on the bed in silence.

Machiko played with the tips of her self-made dreadlocks. She had wanted to be like the yautja as much as possible when she first joined the clan. So she styled her hair to look like their dreads. Each one was almost as thick as theirs too. Helena hadn't. She preferred her natural look, and didn't feel inclined to try to blend in. Neither judged the other for their choices on the matter.

Right now, they had different things to worry about. Such as the attempt on their life.

Helena let out a breath as she unclenched her fists from the blanket beneath her. She looked up at Noguchi and frowned before speaking. "He tried to kill us, didn't he? . . .Topknot, I mean." Machiko remained silent for a moment before nodding her head and looking up as well. "Yeah. . .or at least, he tried to get us killed anyway." Another awkward silence took place before Helena broke it once more. "I don't know how much longer I can take this. . .I thought they'd be more like. . .more like Dachande, but they're nowhere near what he's like. . . They're just. . .pure hell. . ."  
Machiko didn't say anything though she silently agreed with her. Unlike Helena, Machiko hadn't really belonged on earth, or among the yautja. She was desperately trying to fit in here, like they were a second chance for her.  
But they weren't the chance she wanted, she soon realized.

Machiko shook her head and tried to change the subject instead. "Hey." she softly said, getting Helena's attention.

"I noticed you had a photo earlier. May I see it?" She asked. Immediately, a pained expression crossed Helena's face for a brief moment and Noguchi immediately regretted asking. Helena took a breath and nodded her head anyway, despite the pain that was still clearly in her eyes. Bending over, she reached down under her bed and grabbed the picture she had stashed there. Sitting back up, she handed it over to Machiko, but didn't look at it herself as she turned her head away. Machiko looked at the photo and found two persons in it. A ruggedly handsome young man, maybe in his early twenties, with a four year old looking boy riding on his shoulders. They were sitting on top of a picnic blanket and were looking as happy as can be.

Machiko looked up at Helena and stared at her. "Is this your-" "My Ex husband and our son." Helena answered, nodding her head.

"Yeah. . . I used to be a mom." Machiko was stunned into silence for a moment before a question poured out of her before she could stop it. "Are they back on earth?" Again, that pained expression crossed Helena's face and she shook her head. She looked like she was struggling to speak for a moment before something finally came out. "The key words are 'used to be'. . . They were taken from me in a car crash." Machiko didn't know what to say, so she resorted to the default words that most people said when they were given sad news that wasn't about them. "I'm sorry. . ." Helena let out a dry laugh before shaking her head. "No, no, it was my fault. . .My Ex and I were going through the divorce process at the time. . .We were living separately and he was coming over to drop off our son and some paperwork I needed to sign. . .a drunk driver came and rammed them off the road and into a nearby river-" Helena suddenly looked down at the ground and let out a choked sob as the memory came back to her. "If I had just tried harder to resolve things with him-" She broke down crying and Machiko awkwardly sat there with her.

Hesitantly, Machiko reached her arms out and wrapped them around Helena. She wasn't much of a hugger and it showed.

Helena let out another dry laugh as she felt Machiko try to comfort her. "Thank you." She sniffed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get tearful on you-" "No, I'm the one that's sorry. I shouldn't have asked when it was none of my business." Machiko insisted. Helena shook her head. "You were fine. . .There's nothing wrong with curiosity. It was years ago anyway." She tried to dismiss it while furiously wiping at the tears on her cheeks. Machiko waited for her to finish before silently handing the frame back to her and watching as Helena put it away back into it's hiding spot.

Wiping at her eyes again, Helena sniffed once more before looking at Machiko. "You know if you want, you can stay here for the night." She quietly declared.

Machiko had a feeling that the invitation was more so that Helena didn't feel alone tonight, but she nodded anyway. Helena scooted over on her bed and made room for Noguchi to lay down.

Closing their eyes, they drifted off together into their own dreams.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Kiande Amedha**: Hard meat (honorable term for Xenomorphs)

_I'm sorry this is late!_

_I'm also sorry if it seems like the girls are getting bullied too much. Sadly, this actually happens in the books as well, so the treatment isn't inaccurate. The yautja really do only view themselves as honorable hunters. Dachande was different because of what happened._

_Anyway, comment what you think below!_


	13. Chapter10 In Which They Spar

The excitement on the ship was palpable, even for the girls.

They didn't know what was going on for the excitement to occur. There had been a celebration for a successful capture of the Queen, they knew that. Now the excitement was continuing even after the party was over. Yautja, especially the unblooded, were seen vigorously cleaning the ship top to bottom. Weapons were being sharpened and honed. They had even made stops to several planets just to bring in large quantities of exotic foods. The girls were forced to help with the cleaning as well, but surprisingly, the task wasn't given solely to them like usual. They had others begrudgingly helping them with their tasks, just to get it done as quickly as possible. As soon as one task was done, another was given and they all moved on to complete it.

"You don't prepare like this unless you're expecting important company coming over." Machiko quietly commented to Helena while the pair worked on cleaning out the bathrooms.

Helena made a sound of agreement as she scrubbed at some of the higher places that Machiko couldn't reach. She had tossed her hair up into a messy pony tail and the little wisps of hair poking out bounced when she nodded her head. "The question is, who?" She huffed out. Machiko had an immediate answer to that. "Hopefully Dachande. . ." The two remained silent after that as the prospect of Dachande returning gave them great excitement. Helena scrubbed harder. "Hopefully that witch didn't do anything to him while he was away." She grumbled as she thought back to the weird being that showed up. "I didn't even get to see her!" Machiko pointed out as she moved on to one of the 'sinks' by Helena. "What'd she look like?" Helena paused and blew a strand of hair out of her eyes before answering. "I can't even say. She was somehow a morphing mix of every animal possible. I couldn't comprehend what she fully looked like."

Before Machiko could reply, she was viciously shoved aside as a reptilian skinned arm reach around her for her bucket of supplies.

Machiko whipped her head around and glared at Shorty as he hissed at her and snatched one of her 'scrubbers' from the bucket. He walked away before Machiko had a chance to retaliate. Helena glared at him over Machiko's shoulder and internally decided to trip him the next time he ever walked past her. "Why does he hate you specifically?" She growled low and leaned closer to Machiko so only she could hear. Machiko leaned in as well and answered back in a low voice. "It's because I'm shorter than him." Helena rose an eyebrow at her and Machiko gestured back at Shorty with her shoulder. "Can't you tell? Before we came, everyone used to pick on him for being the shortest member on board this ship. Now that I'm here, I'm his scape-goat." Helena frowned at her as Machiko shrugged. "He probably also doesn't like that you were able to high-kick him into oblivion and he can't actually fight you back for that." She added. Helena let out a chuckle and shook her head. "I could do it again for you." She offered.

Machiko chuckled as well and for once in a long time, both felt their spirits raise just a little bit.

* * *

The guests that Machiko had predicted days earlier had finally arrived.

It wasn't Dachande, sadly. The girls found that three other, smaller, ships had docked against there's. Three other clans were coming on board to theirs and the girls didn't know how to feel about that. They just tried to stay out of everyone's way, especially since it was obvious Topknot didn't want them around the other clans as much as possible. Both figured that he was just ashamed to admit that two humans were apart of the clan now.

Though there was one clan that even they were required to attend their welcoming. A fourth clan who apparently had a certain member amongst them that was regarded highly. Almost as highly as Dachande was.

Rounding the corner of one of the hallways, both girls could hear the commotion of excitement as they approached.

The yautja were gathered up in the main room and roars immediately irrupted as the fourth clan landed down. Machiko couldn't quite see it, but Helena could barely peak the clan coming down a ramp onto their ship. All the clan's armor were different from each other, so it was easy to separate the clans out from one another. Machiko really wanted to see as well, so she grabbed a nearby chair and stood on it. Peaking over the crowd, she spotted the especially honored guest walking by.

Her heart leapt to her throat when she spotted the guest, and not in a good way.

Before Helena could stop her, Machiko jumped down from the chair and started pushing her way through the crowd. Helena called after her in her honorary name Dachande had given, but the noise drowned her out. Hastily, she tried to follow after Machiko, though it was harder for her to get through the crowd than her smaller friend.

Vk'leita bowed his head respectfully to the other clan leader, named Light Stepper in his tongue, in front of him. The fourth and final clan had arrived.

Speaking to his fellow Yautja, they exchanged greetings and names and Vk'leita grew excited at the prospect of hunting with him.  
Light Stepper had a similar tale to Dachande's. He had been hunting the **Kiande Amedha** when he ran into a group of **Ooman** soldiers. At first they fought each other until the _kiande amedha_ showed up and interrupted their battle. Both sides were attacked and their goals of killing each other were changed. Both sides fought the bugs until there were only one left from both the Yautja and the_ Ooman_ side. Light Stepper was the last survivor of his hunting party as well as a _ooman_ soldier who's name he didn't know. However, the _ooman_ survivor left him a trophy. A piece of cloth that had a symbol of their own skull stitched into it. Light Stepper wore the cloth around his arm stump, an injury he sustained from his blooding hunt. The two had parted ways after that, which Vk'leita thought was a sensible thing to do, unlike Dachande who had mistakenly felt it appropriate to blood two _oomans_.

Speaking of _oomans_. . .

Vk'leita felt his stomach drop when Da'dtou-di emerged from the crowd and marched up to Light Stepper without any hesitation or even respect for his station. Before either could react, her hand had come out and grasped the tip of the cloth Trophy that was tied around Light Stepper's arm stump. Did she plan to take it off of him?!  
Vk'leita watched as Light Stepper brought his good arm around and dealt her a blow that knocked her to the ground. Angry growls from the crowd rose up as they saw what had happened, all aimed at the _ooman_ and her insolence. Vk'leita could have died from embarrassment. He cursed Dachande for leaving him to deal with these _oomans_ when her taller friend, Yeyinda, emerged from the crowd as well. At first he thought she was going to make the same attempt that Da'dtou-di had, and had begun to move to intercept her when he saw that the woman was just bending down to help her friend up. Yeyinde picked up Da-dtou-di from the ground, but then paused when she spotted the cloth wrapped around Light Stepper's stump as well. Although he couldn't read her mouth, he could read her eyes. She looked at the cloth with shock and horror as her smaller friend leaned against her.

Light Stepper saw her expression as well and growled a threat to her if she attempted to make a grab for his trophy as well.

She ignored him completely and turned her eyes to look at Vk'leita's. His mandibles partially opened in shock as he saw her eyes turn hard. A glare of pure hatred shot from her eyes and Vk'leita was stunned from the intensity of it. She broke eye contact first and helped the smaller _ooman_ back through the crowd and out of the room as the commotion of excitement continued around them. Vk'leita felt his rage flare up. How dare she glare at **him** when **they're** the ones who broke the code and touched another hunter's trophy! How dare she think that she can just walk away from this without consequences! How dare they think themselves equal to the Yautja!

Vk'leita turned back to Light Stepper to apologize for the women's insolence. They'd be punished for their actions soon.

And Vk'leita knew just how he was going to do it.

* * *

Machiko was a mess of anger and confusion in her room once Helena had dropped her off there.

Army. That bandana around that yautja's wrist had been U.S. army brand. Which means it came from a human soldier.  
Which also meant he killed the human for it. . .

Machiko didn't know how to take this in. She and Helena had been so sure that the yautja didn't hunt humans. From how Dachande had acted when his students had gone rogue and started killing humans back on Ryushi, they had been sure that it was taboo. Sure they didn't like humans, that was obvious.

But she and Helena had been so sure. . .

A knock on her door broke her out of her trance. The pounding was too heavy to be Helena's hands. Only one yautja would knock on her door right now, and Machiko had a feeling that she knew why.

Refusing to show any emotion, Machiko got up and answered the door.

Topknot towered over her on the other side. Looking down at her, he rose his hands and signed for her to follow him. The yautja had a type of sign language that was used mostly for giving commands during a hunting trip, and only if they needed to remain perfectly silent at the moment. Both Dachande and Topknot had taught it to Helena and Machiko during their first year on board.

Machiko solemnly nodded her head and followed him out of her room.

As they walked, Machiko managed to string enough words in his language together to ask him what was going on. He simply signed his answer to her. 'Spar'. Machiko bit her lip and this time signed back to him since she didn't know how to ask it in his tongue. 'When?' Topknot signed back. 'Now.'

While Machiko processed this, they stopped to grab Helena as well. When the woman asked the same question, Machiko answered her in English.

Topknot led them back to the main room. Even from down the hall, the girls could hear the roaring and cheering going on from the room, louder than any other time they had ever heard it. Even the capture of the Queen didn't cause this much commotion.  
Machiko saw Helena visibly gulp as they stepped out into the light.  
All five clans were there. Their own and the four visiting ones. They were all roaring for blood as they parted to the sides to let Topknot and the girls through. Looking up, the girls found that a 'stage' had been set up for the spar.

And Shorty was standing in the middle of it.

Pausing at the foot of the stage, Topknot pointed towards Machiko and motioned for her to climb onto the stage and join Shorty. The only small mercy he gave her was a metal mask that they wore for hunts. That would be the only armor she'd wear for this fight. Giving Helena a small but reassuring nod, she climbed up onto the stage and joined Shorty in the middle. Helena watched with worry as her only friend was now forced to face her bully.

Topknot rose his arm up and gave the signal for the battle to start.

Shorty attacked immediately. Hot headed and egotistical, he thought that he could take Da'dtou-di easily. She was _ooman_, after all. He was sorely mistaken.  
Da'dtou-di side stepped his charge and almost danced away from him as he skidded to a halt and glared at her, reassessing his next move.

Machiko had to think fast. Although Shorty definitely beat her on strength, he wasn't a good tactician. He was impulsive and bull headed. She'd have to surprise him and end this quick.

For a while, Helena watched with anxiety as Machiko and Shorty danced around each other in the ring. Shorty kept charging after her and Machiko would dodge him, landing small blows on him as he passed by. Once or twice he managed to scrape her, but he couldn't pin her down. Much to Helena's surprise, she saw Machiko get an upper hand on Shorty. When Shorty did his next charge, Machiko didn't dodge him this time. Instead, she stood her ground and met him head on, literally.

Machiko rammed herself forward and headbutted Shorty as hard as she could.

The crowd gave hisses of anger as Shorty stumbled backwards. Machiko was thankful for the face mask. It was the only thing that kept her own head from cracking open in pain. The blow even made her a bit dizzy, but she recovered faster.

She had to end this now!

Just as she crouched to take a running leap at Shorty, her foot was suddenly yanked out from under her from behind. Whipping her head around, she spotted Shorty's 'friends' grab her ankle and try to pull her backwards. They were trying to throw the match!  
Topknot didn't call a fowl and Machiko knew no one else will. She had to recover this quickly before Shorty got up.

Machiko kicked out with her other leg and slammed her heel into the eye of the hunter grabbing her. He reeled back with a roar of pain, and Machiko scrambled to her feet and looked up just in time to see Shorty's foot coming at her.

Helena unknowingly let out a yelp as she watched Shorty kick her friend in the ribs and off of the stage. Machiko went flying backwards into the cheering crowd and a heavy hand on her shoulder stopped Helena from going after her. Helena looked back to see Topknot gesture at her and then to the stage.

He wanted her to fight Shorty next? Fine. She'd make that little runt regret ever laying a hand on Machiko!

Helena stepped onto the stage easily and glared Shorty down viciously when something strange happened. Helena watched Shorty get off of the stage. With a confused expression, Helena turned and saw Topknot getting on instead! She gapped at him as he stood up and pointed at her and then to himself. Then he signed one word. 'Spar'.

Topknot wanted her to spar with him?!

Helena didn't even get a chance to protest as Topknot had started the match and was already charging at her. All Helena could do was what Machiko did, and dodge to the side. Topknot wasn't Shorty though, and he was the leader of their clan for a reason.  
Swinging his claws out, he caught her in the arm and caused long gashes running from her elbow to her shoulder. Helena let out a yelp of pain as Topknot swung himself around and charged at her again. Helena had no choice but to focus past the pain and concentrate on the fight.  
Ever since joining the yautja, her fighting skills had improved tremendously. She was confident that she could even take on some of the other yautja here if she tried. But Topknot was a veteran to it all, and Helena knew she couldn't beat him.

Not with her normal tactics, anyway.

Making up a plan on the spot, Helena waited until the last second to make her move. Just as Topknot's charge was about to connect with her, she dropped her body to the floor in a dead heap, intending to trip him up. If she could get him on the floor, she stood a better chance of taking him on.  
It should have worked. The proximity between her body and his running feet should have guaranteed Topknot's fall.

But it didn't.

At the very last possible moment, Topknot jumped over her and landed next to her while still standing. Now she was in the most dangerous position on the floor while he stood menacingly above her. Helena tried to move fast and flip herself over and back onto her feet before he could do anything, but he was just too good at what he does.  
Before she could even turn her torso, Topknot zoomed forward and pinned her to the ground. He sat on her stomach, nearly crushing the wind out of her, and pinned the backs of her upper arms with his knees alone. With one hand, he snatched up both of hers and held them above her head while his other hand raised high into the air, forming a fist. Helena lifted her legs and tried to kick the back of his head, but he smirked at her when her foot made contact. Her kicks were painless to him! She tried kneeing his back instead, but those had the same affect.

"Helena!" She heard her name being shouted above the crowd from behind her.

Helena tilted her head up and looked backwards to see Machiko standing again, but holding her ribs and obviously bent over in pain. Her moment of distraction was all Topknot needed.

Machiko was forced to choke on her scream as she watched Topknot bring his fist down against Helena's head. Like a slow motion reel, she saw Topknot's fist connect with her cheek and jaw. She saw Helena's head slam backwards and smack into the hard tiled floor below and bounce back up only to fall a second time with a thud. She heard what suspiciously sounded like bone cracking and she saw Helena's eyes close and refuse to open again.

With a roar of triumph, Topknot placed a foot on Helena's hip and shoved her unconscious body off of the stage and onto the floor below.

While the crowd cheered, Machiko ran to Helena's side, ignoring her own pain. She didn't care anymore. She didn't care if helping her friend was breaking some sort of rule or if it was seen as useless to help those who are weakened. She just knew that she had to get Helena's body and she had to get them out of there. Even if it was just to their own rooms.

Gathering up Helena's body, Machiko carried Helena over her shoulder and ran with her out of that room. Two years ago, this wouldn't have been possible. But Machiko was so much stronger now than she was then. She carried Helena all the way to their safe haven.

Topknot let them go.

* * *

As soon as Helena was in her own bed and propped up on her makeshift pillow, Machiko let out the scream she had been holding in.

Her frustration, her anger, her fear, and her adrenaline all rushed out of her mouth as she internally cursed everyone and everything. Dropping her head back down once she was done, she didn't stop the tears from falling off of her cheeks as she held Helena's limp hand and rocked back and forth.

They couldn't go to the doctors here for help. Their small medical team refused to help the humans, and they came up with excuses of other yautja with bigger injuries to attend to.

Helena was the medic, not Machiko. And for once in a long while, Machiko succumbed to the weight of how useless she felt. She couldn't help her friend now, and they had no one else to turn to for aid.

"Please, please wake up!" Machiko begged as she slipped a hand behind Helena's head and tried to feel her scalp for anything. She couldn't find any blood, but that just made her panic more. She didn't know enough to tell if her skull was fractured or if it was just tender.

Machiko let out another scream of anguish.

* * *

Vk'leita made his way down the hall to Yeyinda's room.

He could not find Da'dtou-di in her own room, so he figured she had gone off to Yeyinda's room first. He'd just have to tell them both the news there instead. Since they both lost in the spar, they both could not participate in the very large and glorious hunt that was about to take place. Once the high from defeating his opponent in the ring had come down, Vk'leita had announced that the hunt would be taking place that night. Everyone was to be ready by then. He let everyone leave the room to go get ready before going himself to find Da'dtou-di and Yeyinda.

Instead of knocking on her door, Vk'leita opened it and let himself in without announcement. They didn't even lock it anyways.

He paused at the sight in front of him. Da'dtou-di was hunched over and was shaking in her entire body. He could hear great, heaving breaths escape her mouth every time she would breath. A sound was escaping her mouth that he couldn't place the name of, but he knew it had something to do with sorrow. And Yeyinde was next to her, sprawled out on the bed and still clearly passed out.

He didn't hit her that hard! Did he? . . .

He took one step into the room and Da'dtou-di whipped her head around. As soon as she saw him, she sprang to her feet and stood in front of Yeyinda, taking a defensive stance and looking ready to fight. Vk'leita was once again shocked by the amount of hatred he saw in her eyes, even if they were red and watery. She held nothing but pure loathing for him.  
Not taking a step further, Vk'leita signed to her.

'We hunt.' He gestured and she eyed him suspiciously as he continued. 'You. Her. Stay.'  
Continuing to look her in the eye, Vk'leita could tell that she understood. She spoke some words in her own language at him and he couldn't tell what tone she was trying to go for, but it was low and growly.  
Casting one last look at the unconscious Yeyinda, Vk'leita turned and left the room.

Maybe he had hit her a little too hard. . .

* * *

Night had fallen by the time the Witch made her next move.

Poking her head out through a dimensional rip, she spied the girls sleeping in Helena's room and cautiously entered into the abode herself. Once in, she morphed into a less cumbersome body that wouldn't knock anything over if she were to turn around. Once done, she looked down at the sleeping girls and took a moment to observe them.

Machiko had her head buried in her arms at the edge of Helena's bed. She had pulled a chair over so she could sleep by her friend's side. The Witch could feel her emotions rolling off of her. Her fear and worry for her friend's condition were the most prominent. Her loneliness was increasing daily, even if Helena kept it at bay most of the time. Today was unbearable for her.

The Witch turned her head to look at Helena and frowned. "Oh you poor sweet souls." She whispered in mourning for them.

Reaching a twisted hand out, she placed it over Helena's head and mumbled under her breath as a soft light blue glow emanated from her hand and seeped between the woman's hair strands. Through her senses, the Witch could feel the fractured bone begin to heal, as well as the other damage that was fatal. She couldn't heal the bruise or gashes in her arm though. Fate wanted those to stay.  
The Witch looked at said bruise and sucked in a hiss at the sight. Purple, nearly black, the bruise spread from just under her eye all the way down to the entirety of her jaw line. Vk'leita's large fist had almost completely damaged the entire left side of Helena's face.

Her heart went out to the two hurting girls.

"Oh fates, why did **Paya** think it was a good idea for you two to be the ones?" The Witch mumbled to herself as she stroked both of the women's hair. Turning around, she left through the same dimensional rip she had come from.

She could help them no more for the moment.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Kiande Amedha**: Hard Meat (Xenomorph)

-**Ooman**: Human

-**Paya**: The Yautja God of Thunder and Hunting. Sometimes considered the God of death as well.

_Welp! That was traumatic. Hope you liked it!_

_So funny story real quick. When I was writing about Helena's hair scene, it reminded me of a friend I had in Elementary who always styled his hair into a mohawk. Whenever he'd turn his head, the mohawk would jiggle. The jiggle for some reason made me think of a fish's fins whenever they would jiggle when the fish would take a sharp turn in the water.  
I called him fish fins for a long while._

_Anyway, carry on!_

_By the way, the fight scene between Machiko and Shorty was in the book as well. Cheers!_


	14. Chapter11 In Which They Change

For a day and a night, Helena was passed out cold. Machiko was growing worried about Helena's water levels when a tiny miracle happened.

Helena started to wake up!

With a gasp, Machiko jumped up and helped her taller friend sit up on the bed while Helena groaned in pain and rose to consciousness. Machiko snatched her water-skin sack from nearby and placed it into Helena's hands, helping her hold the container until she was steady enough to do so on her own. Helena let out several raspy breaths for several minutes before finally lifting the container to her lips and drinking. Before she even got one gulp down, she let out a yelp and dropped the sack in her lap while her hands shot up and held the left side of her cheek in pain. Water seeped out and soaked into her blanket while Helena took in several gulps of air as she tried to breath past the pain that was suddenly searing the left side of her face. Machiko scooped up the water skin and capped it before reaching over and giving Helena a hug. Helena started crying as the pain wouldn't stop, and she held her friend back in a tight embrace.

"What happened?" Helena gasped out, trying to remember how she had fallen asleep and why she was in pain.

Machiko abruptly let go of her and sat down on the bed, regardless of the water soaking in. She looked down at the sheets for a long while before finally looking up at Helena. Her expression was full of rage and hurt, but not directed at her friend. Helena saw Machiko's eyes well up with tears as well. The shorter woman bit her lip before explaining. "Topknot called us down to spar. . .I went against Shorty and lost. . .you went against Topknot and he. . .he punched you hard enough to knock you unconscious. . ."

Helena stared hard at Machiko for several minutes as she let the memories come back to her.

Abruptly, Helena stood up, nearly knocking Machiko over. With long strides, Helena almost ran into her attached bathroom. Machiko followed her and found Helena staring into a body sized mirror they had brought along with them from Ryushi. Well, Machiko's body size anyway. Helena had to crouch down to stare at her face's large bruise. By her expression, Machiko could see that her friend was in shock. Slowly, Helena's expression changed from that shock to first hurt and betrayal, then to seething rage. With a roar from her mouth, Helena brought her fist forward and completely smashed the mirror.

Machiko jumped back in shock as shards of deadly mirror pieces littered the floor.

She stared at Helena as the woman breathed hard and hung her head to stare at the floor. Her left hand was up and cupping her cheek as her right hand fisted the wall and kept her propped up. By her wobbling legs, her arm was probably the only real support she had at the moment. Machiko gracefully stepped over the shards of glass, completely forgetting the pain her own bruise was causing her, and hugged Helena once she reached her side. Helena hugged her back and sobbed into her shoulder. Machiko would have cried too, but she was feeling numb more than anything. She rubbed Helena's back absentmindedly as her mind drifted off. She was only brought back when she heard Helena speaking.

"I want to leave."

Machiko sighed as she knew it was coming. Taking a step backwards, Machiko nodded at her in agreement. "I do too. . ." Helena wiped at her right eye and bit her lip as she looked at her friend. "Let's do it. . .the next planet we land on. We take off and never look back." Machiko could hear her desperation to leave in her voice. She wanted to propose the idea of waiting until they found another human settlement, but Machiko doubted that would happen any time soon. Instead, she nodded at Helena's idea. "Yeah. . .let's leave this place."

Helena wiped her eyes and went to hug Machiko again when her stomach let out a growl.

Helena became embarrassed by the loud noise and looked away sheepishly as Machiko let out a light chuckle. "I'll get us something to eat. You wait here and rest up." Helena caught Machiko's arm as she turned to head out. Machiko rose an eyebrow at Helena as the taller woman pointed at Machiko's midriff. Helena shook her head at her. "I've got some numbing ointment left. Let's both put some on before you go out."

Grateful, Machiko nodded her head and let Helena patch her up.

* * *

Machiko snuck down all the way to the kitchens.

Being careful to avoid everyone, she snuck into the kitchens unnoticed. There she spotted some yautja that had been left behind to make dinner for the hunters that were still out hunting. They made noises and clicks when they spotted her, but Machiko completely ignored them and headed straight for the 'fridge'. A giant room set to freezing temperatures in order to preserve the meat and small quantities of veggies that they housed there. Machiko swung the door open and barged into the cold room. Stalking over to a metal crate, she reached in and swept up an armful of exotic fruits. She debated on grabbing some meat as well, but none of it was cooked. Settling for the fruit and a couple of veggies resembling a mix of carrots and potatoes, Machiko marched her way out of the fridge and slammed the door shut behind her. The 'kitchen staff' made loud noises of protest as she left, but she didn't care anymore. She honestly didn't care about any of it anymore.

Machiko nearly ran all the way back to Helena's room, resentment towards these aliens growing by the minute.

* * *

"Vk'leita. Da'dtou-di left the room and stole from the kitchens earlier today."

Vk'leita turned and observed the messenger as the fellow yautja lifted up his gauntlet and showed him a visual recording of the incident. He saw the **ooman** sneak away with an armful of fruit from the kitchen doors and make her way back to Yeyinda's room. Vk'leita grunted and turned his head away, dismissing the incident altogether. The messenger pressed on, not getting his leader's intent. "Would you like us to punish her for her thievery?" He asked. Vk'leita could sense the hope in the way the yautja asked the question and shook his head. "**M-di**. By the amount she took, Yeyinda is awake now. It is not thievery to deliver sustenance to an injured comrade." Vk'leita reluctantly admitted. He saw the disappointment in the yautja's eyes, but was glad when he didn't comment further. Bowing, the messenger left Vk'leita to himself.

Vk'leita sighed in relief as his bedroom door closed. He had come back to the ship with the last group of hunters who had finished their hunts for the day as well. Tonight, he'd go back out again for one more, then the grand hunt would be finished by the morrow's morning. Several more hunters were still out there to gain more trophies, but they would all be back in time for tonight's meal. The ones who were still alive anyway.

Vk'leita turned his head to look at his newly acquired trophies and let out a pure of satisfaction.

From the past two days, he had gained 14 new skulls to his trophy wall. Eight of them were **Kiande Amedha**. Those he took the most pride in. Six of them, however, were _ooman_. Those ones were mounted high on his wall, above his _kainde amedha_ ones. Out of the way of his main attractions, Vk'leita had lifted them up higher as a sort of testament to his newfound resentment towards _oomans_. He and all his kind hated them before, but now that he had been forced to work with them. . .

He still hated Dachande to this day for marking them.

Vk'leita snapped himself out of his dark thoughts and turned back towards the door leading out of his room. Resting had to wait for the moment. He had to prepare for the celebration that would take place tomorrow night in honor of this grand hunt.

Picking up his cloak, he swept out of the room and went to go give orders to the remaining yautja on the ship.

* * *

A day had passed and Helena stared at the message on her gauntlet along with Machiko next to her on the bed. Helena glared at the message and let out a harsh laugh. "Wow! We were finally invited to something!" Her tone was sarcastic and bitter, but Machiko's reply was even more so.

"They just plan to humiliate us again."

Helena let out a breath and nodded, but they had no choice but to go. To turn down a direct invitation would be an affront to Topknot's authority. Heaven knows the hell they'd receive from him then. Machiko tapped the message away and looked at Helena meaningfully before saying anything. "Let's pack up all of our things after the party and get ready to leave." She suggested.

The heavy weight of their decision laid itself on their shoulders. As soon as the opportunity arose, they were out of there.

Helena nodded and stood up. "I've still got my suit cases from before." Walking over to her closet, she opened it up and paused as she looked in. Machiko tilted her head curiously at her friend as Helena seemed to be contemplating something. Without a word, Helena started stripping out of the clothing the yautja had given her and pulled out her 'human' clothing from the closet. With a shocked breath, Machiko stood up and walked over to her. "Why?" She simply asked. Helena paused and looked her dead in the eye before saying a simple phrase.

"I'm not one of them."

Silence passed between the two as Machiko took this in. What Helena was doing was a silent act of rebellion against the yautja. She was no longer going to even pretend to be their comrade. It took a Machiko a split second to make up her mind as well.  
Grunting, she began to strip out of her clothes as well in preference for her old ones. "Mind helping me take my hair out of these dreads?" She asked.

Helena simply nodded and together they returned back to their normal, human selves.

* * *

Vk'leita stood on top of the hastily constructed platform with the other clan leaders as their clans slowly trickled into the room.

The celebration would begin once Vk'leita gave a speech as the host for this event. For the moment, he let the yautja socialize while he waited for the vast majority of them to arrive. He knew it'd be a while, as the hunters had immediately set about to clean their newly acquired trophies as soon as they got back on the ship. The unblooded as well. They were forbidden from hunting the _kainde amedha_ yet, as their training was not yet complete, but they could hunt all other creatures on the planet. The_ oomans _there were wiped off in mere hours. Either from the_ kiande amedha _eggs they had planted on the planet, or from the yautja hunting them down individually themselves. The unblooded especially went after the _oomans_, Lar'nix'va gaining the most skulls from them. The young unblooded had showed off his trophies proudly before storing them with the rest of the unblooded in the ship's temporary trophy case. A safe space for the unblooded to temporarily put their trophies in until they had rooms and trophy cases of their own.

The celebration was about to officially start when the _oomans_ walked in.

Several hisses in surprise were heard as the blatant change to the_ ooman's_ apparel were obvious. They no longer wore the traditional garb of their own yautja women, and to top it off, Da'dtou-di had taken her 'hair' out of the fake tresses she had designed to match their own. Vk'leita observed both of them intently before focusing his eyes on Yeyinda the most. The woman had the angriest glare for him. Her loathing for him was clear in her eyes, and even he couldn't deny to himself why she hated him so much.  
But what did he care? She was a mere, pesky _ooman_.

A _ooman_ who was challenging him by blatantly tossing aside their traditions for their own.

He was about to step down from the stand to meet her challenge when a queer noise rang out. It reverberated around the room and stopped everyone in their tracks. All looked for the noise when a hauntingly familiar laugh rang out harshly around the room. "**Finally! The honored guests have arrived!**"

It was the Witch.

Blades and spears instantly appeared into the surrounding yautja's hands as her grotesque body materialized into the room before them. Her malicious cackling wouldn't stop echoing around the room until she was fully visible to them all. Her main body morphed around and continuously kept changing, but her head remained the same. Just enough so that they could see the twisted, cruel smirk on her face.

She focused her eyes on Vk'leita and smiled at him as he stepped closer to her. He'd deny it, but she could feel the fear rolling off of him.

"What do you want?!" He roared at her.

Her smile grew bigger as she leaned her head closer to his as she still floated in the center of the room. "Why, I'm here to give you, Vk'leita, what you've been searching for, for these many, many, many years!" She cackled again as she turned her head towards the crowd and searched through them until she zeroed in on another yautja in particular. "You too, Lar'nix'va."  
Lar'nix'va stared up at her in shock as his supposed 'friends' quickly stepped away from him, not wanting to gain the witch's attention by being by him. His mandibles slipped and caused him to stutter when he spoke back to her. "W-What do you m-mean?!"

Instead of answering him, she cackled again before turning her gaze once more. She spotted the two human girls and smiled at them, though this time the smile was significantly less malicious when she aimed it at them. It was even downright gentle. "Girls! Oh how I missed you both!"

Raising her twisted hands into the air, chanting could be heard from her mouth as green light gathered up in her palms. Before anyone could react, she pronounced the last syllable of her spell with a yell and flung her hands forward.

Machiko and Helena could only let out startled yelps as their bodies were flung backwards from the light of the spell hitting them, and they blacked out before they had even reach the floor.

The Witch let out one final laugh before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

* * *

For Vk'leita and Lar'nix'va, it had all happened in slow motion.

Yeyinda and Da'dtou-di's bodies transformed while still in the air before they hit the ground. They watched with stilled hearts as the women's bodies skidded backwards on the floor. A collective gasp from the crowd went off at the same time as they all realized what had happened as soon as the women became prone figures at their feet.

With shaking limbs, Vk'leita and Lar'nix'va walked forward towards the women, begging in their hearts that it wasn't true. That it was all a dream.

It wasn't.  
Vk'leita paused by Yeyinda's body and Lar'nix'va by Da'dtou-di's and both had to fight the urge not to let out a howl of despair at the sight before them.

The Witch had turned both the girls into female Yautja.

Their once _ooman_ clothes now lay in shredded tatters around them, since both of their bodies had doubled in size, leaving them naked for everyone to see. Both were beyond beautifully attractive to their yautja eyes, though their differences were apparent. Like it had been while they were _ooman_, Yeyinda was still taller than Da'dtou-di. In fact, she was taller than the average yautja female in general. Subconsciously, Vk'leita estimated that she was around 11 feet tall, though it was hard to tell when she was curled up on her side. Lar'nix'va observed Da'dtou-di and found that she was indeed the average height of their yautja women. Which meant she was significantly taller than him now, as he only reached five feet and nine inches.

His heart stopped when he recognized her as the same yautja female he had drawn a long time ago.

Lar'nix'va vaguely heard someone calling his name multiple times. He finally looked up and found Vk'leita staring at him, hard.  
He pointed at Da'dtou-di with a clawed finger and then at him. "Take her to the medical bay. Now!" He growled. Snapping himself out of his shock, Lar'nix'va nodded slowly before picking up Da'dtou-di and holding her in his arms. The weight of her body in his arms would have been pleasing if any other situation were involved.

Looking over, he watched Vk'leita gingerly pick up Yeyinda as well. Lar'nix'va didn't miss the way he cradled the large woman in his arms before looking towards the door. He began to run out of the room, Lar'nix'va following him from behind.

The party was over.

* * *

A roar from down the hall was all the warning that the doctors on board got before the door was busted open by their own leader. They watched with intense befuddlement as Vk'leita came in carrying a very large yautja in his arms. Their confusion doubled when Lar'nix'va came in carrying one as well.

It tripled when they realized that they were females that they were carrying.

"They need beds, now!" Vk'leita quickly snapped at them. The medics quickly got to work preparing two rooms. Vk'leita and Lar'nix'va waited on the side while the rooms were set up. Both tried to avoid looking down at the women in their arms. If they didn't look, then the reality wouldn't set in.

Not yet. They couldn't let it in just yet.

About five minutes later, both yautja were ushered into the prepped rooms. The women were placed on the offered beds and questions immediately began to flow from the doctors. "What's wrong with them?" "The Witch did something and it caused them to go into **dhi'ki-de.**" "Wait! What did the Witch do?!" ". . . .She changed them into yautja. . ." "You mean, these two are-" "**Sei-i**. The two blooded _oomans_. . ."

The questions went back and forth like that until a picture of what happened and what needed to be done formed before them. Eventually, the medics could do nothing more to help.

"We can only keep them monitored and watch for any changes." The head medic said to Vk'leita. "But she must rise to consciousness on her own." The same news was told to Lar'nix'va, who immediately said he was staying with Da'dtou-di. "I'm not leaving her side." He stubbornly said, though his stomach flipped as he thought about of her. When his claim was told to Vk'leita, he agreed and proclaimed that he'd be staying by Yeyinda's side as well.  
He needed answers and he couldn't think on how to get those if he was surrounded by the rest of the clan and their questions.

The doctors relented to their demands and left them alone with the women, giving them their privacy.

Immediately, both ran to the female's sides and deeply observed them.

Lar'nix'va looked at every detail, every inch to see if there was any sign that this was not the female he had been told about in his sight blessing. Looking for any hope that it wasn't her,  
he found no detail out of place and it made him sick to his stomach. Especially when he looked at the bruising just above her stomach from where he had kicked her.

Vk'leita had a much similar reaction to what Lar'nix'va had just done. Though he had a harder time looking her over. He just couldn't get past the face. . .and the bruise he had put on half of it. . .  
Together, Vk'leita and Lar'nix'va both thought the same thing. This had to be a trick from the Witch!

"**It's no trick.**"

Both whirled around at the sound of her voice and found that they were no longer in the rooms with the women. Instead, they appeared to be floating in space alongside the Witch, who stared them down angrily. No one else was around but the three of them.

Vk'leita stepped forward angrily. He pointed an accusing finger at her and snapped at her in the harshest tone possible.

"Why did you make them look like our intended **bhu'ja jehdins**?!"

The Witch gave him a look that clearly said she was annoyed with him. Despite having completely different faces, they could read her expressions and understand her words perfectly. She gestured wildly at them with her hands. "I didn't make them **look** like your _bhu'ja jehdins_! They **are** your _bhu'ja jehdins_! Your God intended for those two to be your partners, and just asked me to help with the process. They are yautja now, body, blood, mind and all."

This startling revelation sunk into the both of them as their stomachs began to twist into knots. Vk'leita's anger was much less prominent now.

"Then why turn them now?! Why not when they first came onto the ship? Or even before that?!" He wildly asked, desperate for answers. Her smile turned twisted again as she stared at the both of them.  
"I love watching you hardheaded **cjits** suffer." She hissed darkly. "Imagine the hate they will both have for you two when they wake up. A reflection of the hate you two had for them just because they were _ooman._" She cackled. "You fools didn't even recognize them the minute they came on board." "How were we to know they were our intended mates?!" Lar'nix'va desperately cried out.

The Witch's expression turned angry again. "How could you **not**?!"

With a vicious snap of her fingers, holographic images appeared beside her. It was an image of Da'dtou-di and Yeyinda, both in their _ooman_ forms and in their yautja forms. "If you two had taken even a second to actually pay attention to them when they were _ooman_, then you would have figured this all out much sooner." She pointed a finger at Vk'leita and then moved it towards the two figures of Yeyinda. "When I first showed you in your dreams what your mate would look like, you spent so long staring and observing her that you committed nearly every detail to memory. As soon as Yeyinda came into your view, it should have been obvious who she was!" Then she turned the finger on Lar'nix'va and snapped even harder at him. "You **pauking** drew her when I showed her to you as well! You have even less of an excuse! If you had done the same thing, then you would have realized who she was instantly as well."  
She lowered her finger and glared at them both. "Your hate for oomans and especially these two have blinded you both to who they were. Your partners. If you look closely, and I mean very closely, you'll see the similarities right away."

She took a step back and allowed them to do just that. A chance to look at the images side by side and compare the two together.

Hesitantly, both yautja walked around the images of the floating females.

Once Vk'leita began looking back and forth between the _ooman_ and the yautja form of Yeyinda, he started noticing the similarities instantly. The eyes, the same shape. Their chins were the same. The set of their eyebrows, the slope of their necks, the dip of their shoulders, even the length of their hair and tresses that reached to both of their hips. Vk'leita began to notice how everything was the same between the two, from the shape of their large breasts to the curve of their bottoms and the hard defining lines of their thighs.

When it dawned on him that Yeyinda truly was his _bhu'ja jehdin_, he almost fell to the empty space below as his stomach rolled around and his heart stopped for a moment in his chest.

Lar'nix'va did the same, though he was stuck on her eyes. Those same curious eyes that he found no other yautja had the same shape to. They were small and pinched at the ends. When he looked at Da'dtou-di's _ooman_ form, he choked on his own air when he saw that those were her _ooman_ eyes as well. Rapidly, every feature between the two became prominent to him, and he almost couldn't handle it with how fast he was comparing the two. The woman whom he had been dreaming about for months on end had been right by him this entire time. Right by his side for two years!

The woman who he endlessly tortured day and night just because she was _ooman_ at the time.

Lar'nix'va gave out a sudden cry of anguish as pain like he had never felt before radiated in his chest. He dropped to his knees and looked over once to see Vk'leita doing the same. They both knew what was wrong.

They _pauked_ up.

The Witch watched their expressions carefully as they turned from intense scrutiny of their mate's figures to sudden realization and then to one of regret and pain.  
Her work here was done.

With a clap of her gnarled hands, they were returned to the medic rooms.

* * *

Lar'nix'va made a mad dash to the attached bathroom as soon as he realized that he was back in Da'dtou-di's room.

Slamming the privacy screen shut behind him, he knelt over the dumping station and emptied the contents of his stomach over and over again. Fear, anxiety, regret and desperation like he had never felt before hit him in the chest like a queen's tail. Not even as a pup had he ever felt emotions this intense before!

Every horrible act, every mean and abusive deed he had done to Da'dtou-di came back to the front of his memory and made him curl up on the floor in anguish. Tears he didn't know he was shedding pooled on the floor and he choked on the air as he tried to breath through his sobs.

He knew Da'dtou-di was going to remember all of his bad deeds too when she woke up. . .

* * *

Vk'leita fell to his knees on the floor as soon as the ground appeared beneath him.

He had to crawl over to Yeyinda's side and pull himself by the edge of the bed in order to see her. He wished he hadn't. The sight of her bruised face caused him to release the side of the bed and fall to the floor as angry visions clouded his sight from reality.

When he had pinned her down and punched her in the sparing match, it was no longer her _ooman_ form beneath him that he was pinning. It was her in her yautja form, starring up at him in horror as she realized what he intended to do. When his fist came down and connected with her face, his real body let out a whimper like a pup who had just experienced his first real painful injury. He gagged deep in his throat as he watched her head collide with the floor beneath her and heard the unmistakable sound of bone cracking. He hadn't heard it before in his bloodlust frenzy during the spar, but he heard it now.

Soon every horrible act he had done to her were being replaced with her yautja form in her _ooman_ form's stead. The yautja female whom he would have never, ever dared even to lift a finger against if he knew it was her.

A _bhu'ja jehdin_ was a personal gift from **Paya**. Only some yautja were destined to have one mate that was hand chosen by Paya himself. It was considered one of the highest honors, as it meant that he deemed that your bloodline would continue with the perfect partner. Only the female could decide if the matching was to her liking or not. To reject one's _bhu'ja jehdin_ was to reject Paya's own gift, which no one ever did.

Except for now. Right now, Vk'leita was sure that he would be the first yautja in history to have their god-given mate reject him. Right now, he was sure that when Yeyinda woke up, she'd either immediately try to kill him or blatantly proclaim that she'd never in this life be his mate.

The thought made Vk'leita tremble even harder, and his eyes began to sting as the heavy weight of regret settled over him. Tears he thought he'd never shed slid down his eye sockets and fell against the flaps of his mandibles. He couldn't breath. He just couldn't do anything but cry and silently pray to Paya for a miracle and his mercy.

With shaking hands, Vk'leita reached up and desperately grasped Yeyinda's limp hand. He held on to her like his life depended on it.

His future certainly did.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**ooman: **human

-**M-di: **no

-**Kiande Amedha:** Hard meat (xenomorph)

-**dhi'ki-de: **unconsciousness/coma

-**Sei-i: **yes

-**bhu'ja jehdin: **Spirit Spar (the equivalent of the human version of a 'soul mate'. It means 'the one who fights life along side me.' It's a gender neutral term.)

-**cjit: **sh**

-**pauk: **Fu**

-**Paya: **The god of storms and hunting. Sometimes also considered the god of death as well.

_Well this was a rollercoaster to write. I honestly have no words to say about it. If you have questions or comments, please leave them for me to read. I enjoy reading them and answering them. No spoilers though!  
But I will say that next chapter I will dive into more of what a 'sight blessing' is. I'm sure you all are curious._

_Anyways, tootles!_


	15. Chapter12 In Which They Confide

A young and inexperienced Vk'leita sat with anticipation amongst the other unblooded 'pups' at the floor of the Thunder God's temple.

They weren't really 'pups'. Not anymore, anyway. In just a few hours, after they would all receive their Sight Blessings, they would be put onto a ship where they would start their training to hunt down the ****Kiande Amedha**** and become full blooded warriors of society. They weren't really pups anymore, though none of the adults would ever acknowledge them as such. Until they would become blooded warriors, they were called pups by their betters and nothing else.

Vk'leita hated being called a pup.

When a trainee oracle finally came through the door, Vk'leita eagerly stood up as his turn was next. The trainee gave him a miniscule nod of acknowledgement before turning and leaving back through the door, expecting him to follow. Vk'leita did so, keeping his eyes trained ahead of him at the would-be oracle's back and no where else. A show of discipline was always admired, especially concerning one's curiosity. They weren't pups anymore.

The walk took them through endless hallways before they finally stopped at a closed wooden door, intricately carved by the head oracle himself.

The one who waited on the other side of the door for him.

"Enter. He is ready for you." The oracle in training aimed his gruff clicks at Vk'leita before turning and leaving to gather one of the other unblooded for a different oracle's scrutiny. Vk'leita took a moment to compose his nervous breathing before gently opening the door. If this were any other event, he'd make a grand show of an entrance for himself by pushing the doors in with his full might.  
But this was a temple and a sacred occasion. Pompousness and ego were not tolerated here. ****Paya**** did not care for the ones who wouldn't humble themselves to receive his gifts.

Pushing the door lightly open, Vk'leita entered in and immediately spotted the Oracle waiting for him.

A small fire was burning in the center of the room. Mostly used to produce smoke for the herbs and incense that were traditionally used for the ceremony. Two mats and a chair were propped by the fire. A table with assorted food and drinks was set out nearby. Vk'leita knew the food and drinks were of a bland nature. They were used to give the Oracle and the unblooded sustenance rather than excite the taste buds. The oracles did not want anything breaking their concentration, not even lingering flavors from the foods they ate.

The Oracle himself sat on one of the mats that was laid out.

This Oracle was barely old enough to be considered an Ancient. He was fairly new in terms of his reign as the head Oracle at Paya's temple. It gained him no less respect for it.  
Vk'leita certainly wasn't going to criticize the yautja for being the new leader of the place.

The Oracle waved him over and gestured to the mat in front of him. "Vk'leita, I presume?" He clicked. "****Sei-i.****" Vk'leita respectfully bowed his head at him. "I am he." The Oracle's upper mandibles lifted in a grin at him and Vk'leita observed as his face took on a friendly, almost fatherly appearance. "Then come sit down Vk'leita. We have much to discuss." The Oracle invited him over to the mat.

Vk'leita walked over and sat down on his knees in front of the oracle, just like he had practiced with his father. The Oracle slid a platter of the plain food over to him and picked up a plate of the substance for himself. "You're going to want to eat. This will be a taxing experience for the both of us." Vk'leita silently nodded his head as he picked up the strange substance and began to eat with the Oracle.  
They talked while they ate together.

"What do you know about Sight Blessings, Vk'leita?" The Oracle asked.

Vk'leita swallowed his mouthful and quietly answered the question. "A sight Blessing is a message from Paya. It will tell you the best course of direction for your life, and how to obtain it. It will also tell you the blessings you will gain out of it." "A very uniform answer from you." The Oracle replied, though Vk'leita wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not. The Oracle set down his plate and made gestures with his hands as he spoke. "Whether you follow the path that Paya has given to you, is purely your choice. He only gives you an option. It's up to you to fulfill your end of the directions he has given if you want the rewards that come with it. Will you accept the words that Paya will send me to tell you? Will you listen and choose your path in life carefully?"

The Oracle waited intently for his answer, so Vk'leita nodded at him. "I will listen to what he has to say."

"Good." The Oracle stood up. He strode over to the chair that was positioned beside Vk'leita's mat and sat down. He motioned for Vk'leita to lean forward and the young unblooded did so. "It is time." The Oracle softly said. "Close your eyes. We begin." Vk'leita did as told and felt the hands of the Oracle press against his forehead and crown of ridges.

For a while, nothing happened, and it seemed as if Paya had no message to give to Vk'leita.

Then the sensations finally started. Vk'leita felt a pull at his stomach and a dizzy sensation hit him out of nowhere that caused him to unintentionally lean further into the Oracle's hands. The scents of the herbs that were burning became stronger and filled his scent glands while all the noise around him stopped. The crackle of the fire was gone. The sound of their breathing was absent. Even the feel of a heartbeat had vanished.

Then the Oracle's voice was all he could hear.

"Vk'leita, son of Lar'vin. Paya has asked me to address you with matters concerning your future and what, in his perception of time, will soon come to pass. He knows that you seek to be a leader amongst your people. He knows that you wish to bring honor to your name and to make your father proud. This is what he advises you to do in order to obtain your goals."

Vk'leita felt another dizzying pull at his head as more energy was sapped from him.

"Paya urges you to trust in your blood brother as your confidant. While it may not be apparent at first, you both need to rely on each other for support as your futures unfold." Another dizzy wave hit Vk'leita as the prophesying went on. "Paya has another goal for you. Through your actions, you will bring about a change in the yautja race for many generations to come if you follow his council correctly. Whether this change will be good or bad is purely up to you. It will be slow, and you will not see it come to full completion in your lifetime, but the benefits of the change will be immediate. You will have the most fulfilling future amongst your brethren when this change is brought about."

There was a pause and Vk'leita thought that his Sight Blessing was over. As thrilled as he was by the news of him having a crucial role in his species progress, the energy being sapped from him for this message was making him tired.

Just when he thought the meeting was over, he felt the Oracle jerk beside him and nearly all of the energy from Vk'leita was taken from him as he felt himself wobble on his knees. The voice that came out of the Oracle was no longer his own, but almost sounded like it was Paya himself talking.

"Now on to the matter concerning your ****bhu'ja jehdin****. . ."

Vk'leita felt his heart leap at those words. Suddenly some of his energy returned to him as his blood rushed through his body in his excitement. He was going to have a _bhu'ja jehdin_?! Him?! It was believed that only five yautja in every generation ever got one. These warriors were exceptionally skilled and ended up being prominent leaders amongst their people.

And he was going to be one of them!

The deep voice of the Oracle came back and brought him down from the internal high he was having.  
"Your _bhu'ja jehdin_ will not be like the other females of your kind." These words startled Vk'leita and he almost opened his eyes to stare at the Oracle. The Oracle went on. "She was not raised to be like the others. The way her mind thinks pleases Paya, and he wishes to spread her thinking further. She is the key to all of your blessings in your future. . . and the key to the change that Paya seeks to instill amongst his chosen race. The way she will come about your life will not be like any other."

Vk'leita waited eagerly for more information on his God-given mate. A physical description, a name, anything!  
He received none.

"This is all Paya wishes to tell you."

And with that, the Sight Blessing ended. The Oracle's hands released from Vk'leita's head and both fell backwards in a tired daze as the energy in their bodies was nearly spent. Vk'leita's mind was racing with the information given to him, as well as hundreds of questions that he wanted to ask like an eager pup.

After a moment of rest, the Oracle stood up on shaking legs and moved towards the table. He silently reached for the food provided and began to eat. A moment longer, and Vk'leita got up to join him. They both silently regained their energy, but Vk'leita could not keep quiet any longer.

"Is there nothing else you can tell me about her?" He asked. His tone was desperate, and the Oracle knew that the pup was just eager to find out more about his intended mate. The information that he was given about the pup's mate though, troubled him. He sighed and looked over at Vk'leita with a somber look on his face.

"I am forbidden from telling you more about her. . .but Paya is providing you what you seek as we speak. Another. . .source, will be coming soon to provide you with an actual image of what your mate will look like." Vk'leita stared at him wide eyed and the Oracle sighed. "Eat and restore yourself. When you leave, your question will be answered."

The Oracle watched out of the corner of his eye as the eager pup scarfed down his meal as fast as possible and then tried to do a respectful bow to him, though it was obvious the young unblooded was too eager to fully think. "Thank you, honorable Oracle, for giving me my Sight Blessing this day."

The Oracle gave him a small nod in return. "I receive your thanks in full. Now go start your journey to become a warrior. Your brother waits for you outside with the others."

Vk'leita waisted no time in leaving, much to the Oracle's amusement.

* * *

The Oracle's words swirled around Vk'leita's head as he stepped out of the room and shut the door behind himself.

He couldn't wait to tell his brother! A _bhu'ja jehdin_ . He was going to have a _bhu'ja jehdin_ ! He was going to be a warrior and he was going to have a God-given mate!

Just as he took a step further, black smoke filled the hallway at a rapid pace. Vk'leita gasped at the sight when an unfamiliar voice spoke up behind him. "Hello little pest."  
Vk'leita whirled around and spotted a disfigured body floating before him. Looking down at his feet, it appeared as if he were floating too. The voice from the body cackled when he looked back up at her and trembled. He didn't know who or what the thing was, and he already didn't like it. It didn't have a face like his own, yet he could read her cruel expression easily.

"Who are you?!" Vk'leita tried to sound aggressive, but it didn't quite come out right. She laughed again at his expense.

"I'm your 'second source' that your Oracle has so graciously dubbed me as." She spat, voice obviously bitter. Vk'leita's mandibles snapped open in shock as he finally realized who she was. "You're the-" "_Sei-i_! I'm the Witch. Now let's move on to more important matters." She clapped her hands together. "Your precious mate! Your god has asked me to show her to you, and so I shall."

Breaking her hands apart, an image began to grow between her fingers until her arms could go no wider. She set the image down and it continued to grow until it reached its intended height. The Witch observed Vk'leita's reaction before flourishing her hands dramatically at the image. "Behold! Your future mate!"

She watched as the young youtja was stunned into stillness at the sight of his mate. A beauty to behold, the witch would tell that the young unblooded was instantly enamored by the image of his mate to-be. She could already see the determination growing behind his eyes and knew that he was already vowing to himself to find her as soon as possible.

Oh how she wanted to laugh at the poor fool.

She allowed him to take his time to observe his mate and check her out. The female yautja's sex appeal was plenty and the affect wasn't lost on Vk'leita. The Witch could tell that he was already fantasizing about her.

Right in the middle of his daydreaming, the Witch snapped her fingers and distorted the image until it disappeared.

His mandibles finally closed as he shook himself out of his daze and turned his gaze on the Witch. "I do not understand. I appreciate that you did this, but why show me?" He asked. '_So young and naïve._' She thought to herself. Leaning forward, she snapped in his face angrily as she delivered her own message. "I come on behalf of your god, and I come to deliver a warning, boy! Your mate will not be that easy to obtain. You have a long, very long way to go before you'll ever have her by your side!"

She saw Vk'leita's eyes fill with fear and leaned back with a satisfied smirk. "Let's see how well you can actually handle her."

And with a clap of her hands, she was gone.

Vk'leita stared at the spot she had just been for a long while, stunned into silence. Hope for his future slowly began to drop as he processed what she had just said. Was he actually going to find his mate, ever?

Before he could dwell any further, a heavy hand dropped on his shoulder and he looked up to see the Oracle looking down at him. He shook his head and pointed in the area the Witch had just been. "Do not let her words trouble you for the moment." He softly said. "You will not need to worry about your mate for a while."

Vk'leita felt some hope return to him as the Oracle nudged him forward. "Now go. Tell your brother of your news."

With a nod of his head, Vk'leita ran off.

* * *

"**Mei'hswei**! What did the ancient say!?" Vk'leita spotted his brother waiting for him outside of the temple.

Vk'leita ran to him and met him in a quick embrace before breaking apart and grinning at his brother. "You'll never guess." He declared. His brother cocked his head at him before playing along with his guessing game. "You are to be a member of the council of ancients?" Vk'leita shook his head and his brother tried again. "You will father over hundreds of pups!" Vk'leita shook his head again, though the idea of having hundreds of little pups with his mate was a thrilling notion, especially the implications behind it.  
"I give up, tell me!" His brother begged. Vk'leita couldn't hold it in any longer either and finally lifted his mandibles in a smile.

"I'm going to have a _bhu'ja jehdin_ !"

His brother openly gapped at him as soon as he said it. Vk'leita couldn't help but chuckle at his brother's expression, even when his brother grasped his shoulders and lightly shook him. "Tell me all that the Oracle said!" He demanded.  
So he did. He told his brother every last detail.

Including the parts with the Witch.

* * *

Vk'leita sat outside Yeyinda's room and stared at the floor. His eyes were red from the tears he had been shedding.

The doctors had come in and asked him to leave while they ran some check ups on the women. Vk'leita had wordlessly left, much to their surprise. They hadn't asked Lar'nix'va to leave yet, so it was just him, alone out in the hallway.

Until he heard the sound of approaching feet and a gasp from a familiar voice close by.

"_Mei'hswei_. Why do you sit on the floor in such an undignified way?"

Vk'leita looked up to see his brother staring down at him. His _mei'hswei_, who was also a clan leader. Both men had risen to leadership thanks to his brother leaving to join another clan many years ago. The separation from his trusted brother was hard at the time, but it had benefitted both of them in the end. Now his brother was the leader of one of the clans that had come to join them for the large hunt.

His brother gapped his mandibles at him when he saw the state Vk'leita was in. "You have been crying?" He softly asked.

Vk'leita felt himself nodding his head before he could stop himself. Crying was seen as a weakness amongst their kind, but he could trust his brother.  
Vk'leita watched his sibling bend down and offer him a hand up, which he graciously took. Once on his feet, his brother let go of his hand and stood up straighter before him. "I know the _oomans_ turning into us is a blow to our pride, but surely it is nothing to cry about!" He tried to sound humorous, but it didn't have the affect that he wanted. Vk'leita shook his head and his breath hitched in his throat again as he thought of his mate in the room behind him. His brother shook his arm gently to try and get him to talk. "Vk'leita, please. You have never kept anything from me before. The Oracle said I would be your support. Maybe I can help with your issue now?" He tried to persuade him.

Vk'leita finally looked up at his brother and his sibling saw the wetness in his eyes. He had fathered many pups of his own, and knew that his brother was about to cry again because of his experience with them.

"The _ooman_ named Yeyinda is my _bhu'ja jehdin_ !"

Vk'leita's brother watched with open shock as his blood sibling broke down again. He grabbed Vk'leita by his arms in order to hold him up. "**M-di**! _M-di_, _m-di,_ _m-di_, that can not be! Paya would never pollute our bloodlines with that of an _ooman's_! The Witch may have changed her to look like us, but she is not one of us! She is. . .an **abomination**! A being cursed into a form that is not her own. She is not a true yautja!" He insisted. Vk'leita shook his head and the look of misery never left his face as he replied back to his brother.

"The Witch never lies. . .you know that as well as I do. Her powers depend on it."

Vk'leita heard no more from his brother and knew that his argument was defeated. The truth could not be denied by them anymore.  
Yeyinda was his mate, and he had no hope of their union ever happening. He had messed things up too much.

Vk'leita's brother contemplated giving his brother a much needed hug when one of the doctors came out of the room. Vk'leita immediately turned around to give them his attention, and they cringed at the sight of him. He was a mess.

"How is she?" Vk'leita quickly asked before they could open their mandibles.

The yautja shook his head before gesturing back to the room behind him. "She still remains in **dhi'ki-de**. We wanted to ask you if we could move the women to their rooms. They thrash about in their sleep angrily. We suspect that when they wake, they will not take kindly to an unfamiliar environment. They will act rashly, and might cause more damage to themselves if they lash out. we suspect that they will wake up more calmly if it is done in their own rooms." Vk'leita contemplated this when the medical yautja kept on speaking. "We will move the machinery into their rooms so we may still monitor them there."

Vk'leita held back a sigh and nodded his head. "_Sei-i_. Move them, if it is best. But I will move Yeyinda myself." The yautja bowed to his leader and went in to tell his fellow medics the command. Vk'leita turned back to his brother and gave him a hug once the medic was gone. "I thank you, _mei'hswei_." He quietly clicked. Vk'leita felt his brother hug him back briefly before they both let go. "I receive they thanks in full. . ."

Vk'leita nodded and turned around to go back into Yeyinda's room.

* * *

A group of unblooded yautja walked the halls together, heading back to the pits to sleep for the night.

Six members in total, the boys talked about the events earlier with more than a little disrespect in their voices. Crude remarks about the females were being thrown back in forth. "Of course the Witch would pull some **cjit** like this and turn two _oomans_ into us." One spat. Another replied in a little more aroused tone. "But imagine if they were real yautja. I'd rut the tall one until my rod would turn blue from over-use." Nearly all of the group snickered until a third one spoke out. "Like you'd be able to lift her up for that. Your hips can't even reach her backside for the mating grind! The smaller one might be interested in you, if you hadn't spent so long staring at her bottom when Lar'nix'va was carrying her." More laughter broke out as more derogatory suggestions on how they would mate each female were tossed out. Only one didn't laugh, and this one slipped away from the group as soon as he had the chance.

Cli-var made his way down to the medical rooms where he knew Lar'nix'va would be.

A much more quiet individual than most, Cli-var was somewhat more friendly towards Lar'nix'va than the others, though he truly was a coward at heart. He didn't take part in the taunting the others usually did towards him, but he never tried to defend him either. Despite that, Lar'nix'va had shown him the drawing he had done of his _bhu'ja jehdin_ when they had first come on the ship. Granted it was kind of an accident, but Cli-var was still happy that Lar'nix'va trusted him enough to tell him about her when he found the picture by Lar'nix'va's sleeping spot.

If his suspicions were right, then the events that had happened earlier had everything to do with that picture.

Cli-var entered the medical wing of the ship and quickly found Da'dtou-di's room without being noticed. Being quiet had its advantages. Slipping inside, he found exactly what he thought he would. Lar'nix'va was sitting by Da'dtou-di's bed, gripping her unmoving hand tightly and shaking like a pup who had just been born. Gently closing the door behind him, Cli-var walked forward and pulled up a chair beside Lar'nix'va. The shorter Yautja didn't even look up when he heard the sound of scraping chair legs or the sound of someone taking a seat next to him.

"Lar'nix'va?" It was Cli-var's voice, and this caused him to finally look up, albeit reluctantly.

Cli-var had a soft look in his eyes as he approached the subject as carefully as he could. "It's her, isn't it? The one from the picture you drew. . . Your _bhu'ja jehdin_ ." Lar'nix'va stared at him for a moment before nodding his head to confirm it. "_Sei-i_, it's her. . .though I suspect that when she wakes up, it will not be so anymore." Cli-var tilted his head at him curiously, so Lar'nix'va leaned up and showed him the bruises he had caused on Da'dtou-di's ribs. "How can either of them forgive us for what we did?" He clicked, the hope gone from his voice. Cli-var tilted his head again at the shorter yautja's words. "Us?" He asked.

Lar'nix'va nodded and pointed at the wall next to them, indicating the room next to Da'dtou-di's. "Yeyinda. . .she is Vk'leita's _bhu'ja jehdin_ . . ."

Cli-var didn't immediately react, but he was processing what had been told to him. After a couple seconds, he finally replied. "Well. . .now it makes sense why the Witch turned both of them. . ." Lar'nix'va had no reply to that, so Cli-var pressed on. "What did the Oracle say to you specifically about her?" He asked.

Lar'nix'va sat up and wiped at his eyes to clear away his tears before answering. "He just said that. . .my _bhu'ja jehdin_ would be special, and that. . .she and I were destined to do something that involved our entire race? I don't remember his exact words-" "Then I don't think you should give up on her yet." Cli-var interrupted. Lar'nix'va blinked at him, so Cli-var pressed on. "Paya gave you a destiny with her for a reason. Do not give up hope just yet."

Lar'nix'va spread his mandibles to reply, but then the door to the room opened up. "Lar'nix'va." The head doctor walked in. "We will be moving her to her room now." Lar'nix'va mutely nodded and moved back so they could unhook her from the nearby monitoring machines. Once every cord was off, he bent over and scooped her up into his arms. Turning, he and Cli-var exited the room first while the medical team gathered up the equipment to move out.

In the hallway, Lar'nix'va turned his head and gave Cli-var a respectful nod from his head. "Thank you, Cli-var." He quietly said.

Cli-var nodded at him back and both silently pressed on.

* * *

Lar'nix'va stared up at the temple wearily.

It was his turn for his Sight Blessing, but he doubted it would be anything good. He hadn't grown in several years, so he doubted Paya had anything to tell him. Since he was no where near the height of the other yautjas, he was often neglected by them. Lar'nix'va assumed that it would be the same treatment from Paya as well.

Entering the temple after cleaning his feet and hands, Lar'nix'va made his way with the others to the waiting area, where they would be called in one at a time to meet with the various Oracles there. There were so many unblooded that even the head Oracle had to help with the Sight Blessings that day. It would still take several hours for them to finish, as a Sight Blessing was a very taxing process for the Oracles.

Sitting down with the others, Lar'nix'va waited, and waited, and waited in silence until it was finally his turn.

Standing up on his cramped legs, he followed one of the trainee Oracles down several hallways until they stopped in front of an intricately carved door. Lar'nix'va recognized the door immediately as the entrance to the head Oracle's room.  
Well at least now he knew who he'd be seeing today.

The trainee left him at the door and Lar'nix'va gently knocked on the wood before a voice told him to enter.

Stepping into the room, Lar'nix'va quickly took in the details before pausing on the Oracle himself. An ancient Yautja, he already looked tired. Lar'nix'va didn't blame him. He had probably already seen five other yautja before him, judging by how many unblooded had gone in and how many available Oracles there were that day.

Lar'nix'va cautiously stepped into the room and the Oracle waved him over. "Come kneel with me." He said.

Lar'nix'va did as told and took the mat opposite of the yautja. He bowed his head low and spoke like he had been taught. "It's an honor to meet you, head Orac-" Lar'nix'va was interrupted by a sudden wave of dizziness and it took everything he had not to fall over on the floor. He heard the Oracle give out a deep sigh as well and then everything went still. The only sound was the Oracle's voice as he spoke.

"Lar'nix'va, son of Lar'nim'va. Paya has an important path for you concerning your future and the significance it will hold to your species."

Lar'nix'va didn't even get a chance to process this or close his eyes for protocol before the Oracle continued on. "Your future will cause a change in your species that Paya deems necessary. The change, if it be good or bad, is entirely up to you. Your destiny will be met on Dachande's ship if you choose to train as his disciple."

Again, Lar'nix'va had a moment to process this information before the Oracle continued on.

"Your destiny lies in the _bhu'ja jehdin_ that Paya has destined for you. She is not like the other yautja women of your planet, and because of this, she will be the key to the change that Paya seeks. You will find her soon after you start your journey on becoming a blooded warrior."

Lar'nix'va almost got to smile in joy, but the Oracle was speaking too fast.

"Be warned, her differences can lead you to lose her if you are not careful. How you treat her will determine her willingness to be with you."  
Lar'nix'va couldn't understand it. Why wouldn't he treat his God-given mate with respect? And how could any yautja reject the grand design that Paya has set out for them?

The Oracle finally came to a finish with the Sight Blessing. "That is all Paya needs to speak with you on. . .for now."

Lar'nix'va watched as the Oracle began to slump forward, and Lar'nix'va pushed through his own dizzying wave to help the ancient stay upright. He grabbed the yautja by his shoulders and propped him against the chair next to him. The Oracle took a heavy breath and slumped his head.

"It seems. . .Paya. . .really wanted you. . .hear his message." He breathed out.

Lar'nix'va looked towards the prepped table full of food and drinks and stood to get something for the ancient. He nearly fell backwards when his vision went blurry for a second, but he managed to stumble his way forward. Grabbing a cup of water and some tasteless meat, he stumbled back to the yautja and offered it. The Oracle took it graciously and ate the meat and drank the water without a care for manners at the moment. Lar'nix'va waited until he was done and somewhat calmer before asking his questions.

"Was it supposed to go that fast?" He asked.

The Oracle shook his head and took another drink of water before replying. "_M-di_, none of that was normal. . .Paya was urgent in getting his message to you." He took a breath and then motioned towards the table with one clawed hand. "Get yourself something as well. You're just as spent as I am."

Lar'nix'va gratefully made his way to the table to get something before coming back and sitting down.

The Oracle finished off his meal before leaning backwards and looking Lar'nix'va up and down. "Normally-" he began talking while Lar'nix'va was still eating. "-How this would go would be me placing my hands on your head and the message slowly coming to me while our energy is used to fuel the connection between us and Paya. You are the first one where Paya was insistent that I be fast about it."

Lar'nix'va swallowed his bite and then stared at the Oracle as a small pinprick of worry entered his heart. "Is that good or bad?" He asked.

The Oracle was silent a moment before answering. "I would assume mostly good. Though the message for you came fast, you are the second one I've had to deliver that same news to. You and another yautja have intertwining destinies concerning your mates." He tried to comfort. Lar'nix'va clicked his mandibles curiously before continuing on with another question that made him burn inside. "My mate. Who is she?" He softly asked. The Oracle shook his head before answering. "I am forbidden from saying more. . .but I will not be the only one to tell you about her. There will be another messenger today who will give you more information than I can." "Who's the messenger?" Lar'nix'va eagerly asked.

"Me!" Came an unfamiliar voice behind him.

The Oracle clenched his mandibles in an angry hiss and Lar'nix'va whirled around to stare at a misshapen body before him. He was momentarily shocked by the appearance before he once again found his voice. "Wh-wh-who are you?!" He asked.  
The body stepped forward and rows of menacing eyes opened to glare down at him.

"Your kind call me the Witch."

She snapped her fingers and Lar'nix'va found that the Oracle was no longer with him. He stood alone in the darkened room with the Witch. Leaping to his feet, he reached for anything he could fight against her with when a vicious snap of her fingers seemed to cause him paralysis. "Calm down. I'm not here to curse you. I'm just here to deliver the rest of Paya's message." She declared, voice sounding like the hiss from a _Kiande Amedha's_ mouth. Lar'nix'va reluctantly turned and faced her when she finally freed him from her spell. With a smirk aimed at him, she closed her hands together and then slowly spread them apart, an image growing between her two palms.

Lar'nix'va saw the image and gasped. A beautiful yautja woman stood before him. Her markings were like none he had ever seen, yet they were beautifully designed to compliment and enhance her figure. Her eyes were a curious shape, but not unpleasingly so. Her tresses were some of the longest he had ever seen, reaching to her hips.

The Witch gave him a moment to study her before sending the image away.

With a smirk, she touched his forehead with a fleshy finger. "I look forward to seeing your reaction when you actually meet her." Her tone was cruel, and Lar'nix'va was left wondering what she meant when the Witch disappeared and he was back in the room with the Oracle again.

Lar'nix'va took one look at the Oracle before jumping to his feet. "I have to go!" He said, excitement in his voice.

The Oracle nodded and stood up as well. "_Sei-i_, you do. . .be careful with how you handle your _bhu'ja jehdin_ , Lar'nix'va. Paya worries for your future with her." Lar'nix'va nodded and ran out of the room as soon as he was dismissed. Committing every detail he had seen of his mate to memory, Lar'nix'va ran out of the temple to make his way back home and send in the necessary requirements for getting on Dachande's ship.

And to find some parchment and charcoal to draw with.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Kiande Amedha: **Hard Meat (xenomorph)

-**Paya**: The yautja God of Storms and the Hunt. Sometimes also called the God of death.

-**Sei-i: **yes

-**bhu'ja jehdin: **Spirit Spar (The equivalent of the human version of a 'soul mate'. It means 'the one who will fight life alongside me.')

-**M-di: **No

-**dhi'ki-de: **Unconsciousness/coma

-**cjit: **Sh**

-**Mei'hswei**: brother

_This took a long while to write. I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope you all can understand what a bhu'ja jehdin and a Sight Blessing are now. Brownie points for anyone that are screaming right now of how big of idiots Topknot and Shorty were being the entire time._

_I shall see you all next chapter, where there will hopefully be some righteous female rage going on. Wink wink._

_Prepare for tears! For the boys, at least. See ya!_


	16. Chapter13 In Which They Rage

Dachande sat in a tired slump outside the chambers to the Ancient Council.

For nearly two years, he had been trying to successfully meet with them on the matter of him leading a fully blooded ship on hunts. There was more than one meeting, and the wait between each was long. They had other, significantly more important matters to deal with in-between Dachande's request. He was not the top priority to them, so he was constantly being put aside for other meetings. Not that Dachande blamed them for it.

It was an occupational consequence of being the leaders of their entire species.

Finally, Dachande was let inside by a pup. One of the great grandsons to one of the leaders inside. The little pup bowed awkwardly before Dachande and then motioned for him to go inside. The child reminded Dachande of his own pups, which he had gotten to see a lot more of while he was back home on their planet. It was about the only good thing that had come out of returning home.

Dachande entered the room and found himself standing before a large circular table.

The Ancient council consisted of a clan that had proven strong enough to have multiple yautja live long enough to become ancients. The previous council would decide who would sequester the positions from them by nominating two clans. The two clans would be given a specific world to hunt on without the other knowing about it. This caused the clans to think that the other clan were bad-blood invaders and would cause the clans to fight to the death. Whoever was victorious would become the new Council of Ancients.

Dachande saw these ancients sitting around the table, some scowling, some somber, and some unfazed. He refused to show or even feel fear in front of them.

He stepped into the room and the meeting began. One of the kinder looking Ancients stood up to address him.  
"Dachande! Finally, we can have an actual meeting this time." He sat back down and Dachande nodded at him respectfully. Another Ancient spoke up after him. "You left off last time of how your ship had blown up due to the ****ooman**** crashing their own ship into yours. . .and I believe you said that your students left you for dead?" Dachande nodded at him to confirm this.

"****Sei-i****. Tichinde was my strongest student out of them all. Due to this, he lead the others on a vengeance quest against the _oomans_. He had turned them all bad-blood and left me to die in the fire." "How did you live?" A third Ancient asked. Dachande never cared to learn all of their names.

Dachande slowly clicked his mandibles together as he gave them his answer. "The _oomans_ saved me."

Once they had stopped gawking at him in disbelief, Dachande went on to tell them the whole tale. How the _oomans_ had brought him back to their dwelling and how three of them in particular were kind to him and had done their best to heal him with their technology. Then one died and the other two lead him on to defeating the Queen and her brood that had over-taken the area.  
He even told them about the Witch, which they were not happy about.

The second Ancient slammed his fist on the table when he heard this. "What did she do while she was there?!" He demanded, clearly angry though not at Dachande. The others all voiced their agreement and so Dachande gestured to himself. "She gave me and the _oomans_ the ability to understand each other. We can speak to each other fine, but to other yautja and to other _oomans_, we can not comprehend them." The first Ancient immediately spoke up when Dachande said this. "What do you mean 'other yautja'? How could those _oomans_ have met other yautja besides you?"  
This was the part Dachande dreaded telling them.

"I have marked those two _oomans_ as blooded and brought them back with me to hunt with my clan."

Immediate uproar was heard. "Dachande, how could you?!" "Two _oomans_! Do you mean to insult us?!" "How dare you mark them as our equals!" "What could they have possibly done to earn your mark?" "Who are they to you?" "Is the mark now meaningless to you?!"  
Through it all, Dachande stood his ground, but he was growing angrier by the minute. When he could take their remarks no longer, he opened his mandibles and shouted, silencing them all. "****Those**** _oomans_ proved more honorable than the idiotic students I was given! ****They**** did not give up on me! ****They ****did not leave me for dead when they had many chances to. ****They**** staid by my side when my own kind did not. They were-****are**** true warriors, and not some ****pauking**** pups flaunting their spears! Say what you want about_ oomans_. Say what you want about our kind. In the end, I regret nothing. I have marked those two because they earned it, especially since they were _ooman_. Deem me unworthy to lead a ship of fully blooded warriors, I will not care. But I will ****never**** train another student again! They will be the last warriors I ever blood."

Silence permeated the room as they all stared at him. Dachande stood tall and proud in the face of their looks. He meant every word of it.

For a while, no one knew what to do or say. Just when it seemed like the tension was about to finally be broken, a frantic pounding was heard on the council door. A young yautja burst through before anyone could actually do anything about it. Dachande recognized the yautja as one of the few blooded hunters that he had on his ship to help train the students. The yautja was huffing hard like he had run all the way from the ship docks to the council chambers. An impressive feat for any yautja.

"You better have a good reason for interrupting our meeting." An ancient growled behind Dachande.

The yautja straightened himself up and tried to bow to the members in the room. "I am sorry for intruding, but I come on urgent matters. Dachande has been requested to return back to his ship immediately. It's an emergency." Dachande stared at the warrior with unblinking eyes. When he was about to reply, an ancient spoke up before him. "So? What is the emergency?" He demanded. The warrior had a small look of nervousness as he gave his answer. "The. . .the Witch has attacked two of our members."

Dachande reached out with lightning fast reflexes and grabbed the warrior by his shoulder. "Who?!" He demanded, though he had a feeling he knew who they were.

The warrior turned his eyes on Dachande with an apologetic look. "Da'dtou-di and Yeyinda. . ." Dachande stared at the warrior with burning eyes and an ancient behind him spoke up. "Dachande, please tell us those are not the names of the two _oomans_ you bloode-" "They are." Dachande answered, interrupting the ancient. He turned back to the warrior and gave him a warning look. "What did the Witch do to them?" He demanded. The warrior let out a couple nervous clicks before answering. "She turned them into. . .well, into us." "What?" "She turned them into yautja!"

Another stunned silence filled the room before someone spoke up. "Did this happen on the ship?!"

The warrior turned his head towards the speaker and nodded respectfully. "_Sei-i_. In the gathering room." "Do you have a recording of the ship's log with you?" The ancient demanded. The warrior nodded and the ancient pointed to the table. "Show us!" Dachande let go of his shoulder and allowed the warrior to walk past him. The warrior placed his gauntlet on the table after hitting a couple buttons. A holographic image appeared and showed the gathering room crowded with yautja. When two _ooman _women appeared, gasps were heard around the table from the ancients. Some of them hadn't quite yet believed it, but now they did.  
When the Witch appeared, some of them leaned back in their seats.

They watched the Witch raise her hands and shoot her spell at the girls. In less than a blink of an eye, they had turned into two female yautja.

Through all of it, Dachande wasn't surprised. He wasn't surprised by the Witch's actions at all. In fact, his mind was somewhere else. It was on something he had seen in the video right before the Witch had made her appearance. Dachande turned back to the blooded warrior with a dark look on his face. "Vikar-" He called the warrior's name. "Tell me, why was there a bruise on Yeyinda's face? One as large as that?"

The warrior visibly gulped before answering. "Vk'leita made an example out of her and the other ooman earlier. . .He had both of them fight. Da'dtou-di fought Lar'nix'va and Yeyinda fought Vk'leita. . ."

Dachande's expression was thunderous. Slowly, he turned back to the council, and even they were surprised by the amount of anger he was freely showing. Slowly, he clicked his mandibles at them. "Cancel my request for a full blooded ship. It seems I can not trust the unblooded and blooded alike." One of the Ancients stood up when he said this. "Now Dachande, don't be rash. They're _ooman_! Don't throw away your career for a pair of mere _oomans_-" "It ****seems**** that my mark means nothing anymore, as you so eloquently pointed out!" He interrupted with a snap. "If that is the case, then I shall hunt on my own from now on."

Whipping around, he turned on the warrior again. "When did this happen?" He growled.

"14 sun cycles ago." The warrior answered. Dachande clenched his fists. "Son of a _pauking_ ****Lou-dte kale****!" Dachande shouted angrily and stomped out of the Ancient's chambers, completely against protocol. The Ancient's rose and made loud sounds of protest as he left, but a louder voice silenced them. "Let him go. . ."

Their heads turned in the direction of the voice and saw their God's head Oracle step out of the shadows. He had insisted on being at this particular meeting this day.

One of the Ancients clicked at the Oracle. "He acts with no respect-" "He acts on ****Paya's**** behalf." They stared at the Oracle in shock for his reply. The Oracle kept talking. "This is Paya's doing. _Sei-i,_ the Witch may have caused all of this to happen, but it is in Paya's will that she do so. He intended for those _oomans_ to become us, one way or another." "Why would Paya want two _oomans_ to become us?!" One Ancient demanded angrily. The Oracle shook his head. "I do not know that yet. All I know is that those two are here to stay."

Outside in the hall, Dachande and Vikar quickly walked away from the council chambers. Dachande was clearly still angry, so Vikar kept his mouth shut until Dachande finally addressed him. Turning towards the blooded warrior, Dachande quickly snapped his mandibles together heatedly. "I have to return to my home and grab some supplies. I want you to fly back to our ship and relay a message to Vk'leita. By the time I get back, he had better have a good excuse for why he hurt the women, or else it'll be ****me**** making an example out of ****him****!"

Not wanting to make his leader any angrier, Vikar nodded and scurried off.

* * *

Vk'leita had sat by Yeyinda's bed for several sun cycles now.

The woman was still unconscious and had their best monitoring machines hooked up all over her. Everything about her seemed fine, it just appeared that she didn't want to wake up.  
Vk'leita had tormented dreams every night since her transformation. He wouldn't take up his leadership duties and the other clans had gone away by now. Only his brother had stayed and had taken over the leadership duties in his stead. Vk'leita was forever grateful to him for it, as he didn't feel like much of a leader right now.

Yeyinda's pet squawked next to him. Vk'leita turned his head and looked hard at the strange animal.

He had learned the name of it's kind once from Dachande, but had forgotten about it a long time ago. It made strange noises all the day long, and seemed to be in a similar shape to the birds native to his home. But this thing was covered in a substance that was almost as soft as _ooman_ hair, but less malleable. It laid eggs which could be eaten. Vk'leita remembered walking in on Dachande consuming one once. He had insisted that Vk'leita try one some day, but Vk'leita had refused. He had associated the ooman's poorer state of body to their natural food selection, hence why they were inferior in both strength, speed, and even immune system.

The bird squawked once more at him and Vk'leita reluctantly got up to attend to it.

He learned earlier what its needs were. Yeyinda had kept some bags nearby that had similar pictures of it on them. He assumed that it was food for the beast and put some in its 'cage'. He had been right when the thing started eating. He had even figured out how to replace its water supply, though he had no idea what to do with the eggs it laid each day. So he just took the things out and set them aside, hoping that doing so wouldn't offend Yeyinda further by moving them.

Looking back at the prone figure, his heart gave another thudding ache in his chest.

He dreaded the moment she would wake up. The bruise hadn't gone away at all since she had gotten it, even though her new yautja body should have been healing it rapidly by now. He suspected that the Witch had something to do with it lasting this long. The creature wanted him to suffer.  
Vk'leita dreaded her remembering all that he had done to her. He dreaded her reaction and how she would respond to him when he would have to eventually tell her that he was her mate by his god's choice.

He knew, he just knew that she was going to immediately declare that it was never going to happen.

When the monitor for her blood levels started rising, Dachande shot his head up in alarm. She was waking up!  
Not knowing what else to do, he shot his hand out and grabbed hers as she began to toss and turn in her sleep. He desperately held her palm to his face and let his stinging eyes release their pent up tears once more. The fear of her awakening was escalating as her consciousness rose to the surface. He wanted to hold her in his arms one last time before he never got to do it again. It was too late to do that now.

Slowly, very slowly, Yeyinda blinked her eyes open.

Vk'leita held perfectly still as his mate gained an understanding of her surroundings. Yeyinda slowly sat up in her bed and Vk'leita finally released her hand from his. The motion caused the woman to turn her head in his direction and blink at him in confusion.

"Topknot? . . . Why are you in my room? . . .And what are all these machines? . . ." She trailed off as she looked around at the curious devices.

Vk'leita tilted his head at her curiously, though his heart was still pounding. Topknot? Does she and Da'dtou-di call him Topknot? That wasn't his name! Then he realized that he had never actually told them his real name.  
Clearing his throat to try and suppress his nerves, he attempted to answer her as best as possible.

"The Witch showed up and cast her powers on you and Da'dtou-di." He clicked, trying to keep his voice even.

For a moment, Yeyinda made no motion that she had heard him. Then quicker than he could blink, she whipped her head around and stared at him, mandibles open in shock. "How come I can I understand yo-" She stopped mid sentence. Vk'leita watched her eyes go wide as she flung her hands up and felt her mandibles. Then they went even wider as she stared at her hands and slowly let her gaze travel up her arms. Grabbing her sheet cover, Yeyinda yanked the fabric off of herself and gapped at the rest of her body. She made a sound of surprise that sounded similar to what her pet makes, and then she dashed out of the bed, nearly knocking Vk'leita over. She ran over to the mirror she had hanging in her closet and stood back to see her full body.  
She let out a scream of a roar that chilled Vk'leita to his bones.

"What happened to me?!" She shouted, freaking out and falling over backwards.

Vk'leita stood up to help assist her up. Helena was in too much of a daze to refuse his help. She couldn't stop staring at her face in the mirror and its new appearance. She vaguely heard what Topknot was saying to her.  
"The Witch came and cast her powers on you and Da'dtou-di. She changed both of you into. . .well, into us. You are yautja women now. . ."

Helena turned her head and stared at Topknot, letting the information settle with her. When it finally did, she lifted her fist in rage.

"**NO!**" She brought her fist down against her closet door and completely shattered the right side of it. Vk'leita stumbled back in shock as she kept beating her strange wooden box up. She wouldn't stop putting holes in it with her fists.  
"**M-DI**, _M-DI_, _M-di_! Not now! Not when we were ready to leave! How could she?! That-that-that _pauking lou-dte kale_!" Yeyinda kept punching her box until it was reduced to rubble and the _ooman_ clothes she had inside were shredded to threads.

Vk'leita's heart came to a standstill as one word she said came to his attention. "L-l-leave?!" His mandibles slipped and caused him to stutter. "What do you mean leave?!"

Yeyinda paused her punching and turned to glare at him. Her icy eyes could have killed Vk'leita if they had that power. He wanted to shrink under her gaze.  
"_Sei-i_, leave. Machi- no, Da'dtou-di and I had had enough. We were going to leave this hell-hole as soon as we came across the next habitable planet. As soon as this ship would land down, we would have been gone and not looked back. We don't want to hunt, socialize, or even be here anymore, but that damn **Witch** ruined everything!" Her fist came out again and smashed the wall, causing a heavy dent in the metal.

Vk'leita felt his heart give another painful twist. Each word she spoke cut him like knives. He watched his world unravel right before him and he could do nothing to fix it.

Helena's mandible twitched and she let out a hiss before bringing her hand up to the left side of her face. Her bruise was aching again, and it reminded her of what Topknot did. Turning her eyes back on him, she gave him another vivid glare. "**Get out.**" She snarled. She saw Topknot's eyes beginning to water up, but she wasn't having it. "Yeyinda, I'm sor-" "Get out!" She shouted and pointed at her door. "Before I throw you out in pieces, leave!"

Helena turned and didn't see the silent tears falling down Topknot's face as he did what she commanded.

* * *

Lar'nix'va had gone to the bathroom when Da'dtou-di woke up.

Machiko was much quicker at realizing her situation than Helena had been. One look down at herself and she knew right away what she had turned into. The problem was, she didn't know **how** it happened.  
She heard the sound of running water coming from her bathroom and immediately laid down under her blanket again. Closing her eyes, she pretended to be asleep once more.

Lar'nix'va came out of her bathroom and stared at Da'dtou-di's body mournfully.

She still hadn't woken up and he didn't know what he'd do when she did. He walked over to her bed and stared at her with burning eyes before he looked at the monitoring machines besides her. Wait! Those readings weren't right. By the looks of them, Da'dtou-di should be awa-

Lar'nix'va never got to finish his though as a hand shout out from under her sheets and grasped his neck in a strangling hold. He felt his feet leave the floor as he was lifted up by his neck.

Lar'nix'va gasped for air and then he gasped in shock as he finally saw that it was Da'dtou-di holding him high off the ground and strangling his wind pipe. Her glare was murderous as she held him up higher. Opening her mandibles, she roared at him. "What happened to me?!" She snarled.

Shorty gasped for air, so Machiko unceremoniously dropped him to the floor. Shorty landed with a thud and Machiko slowly stalked around him with a predator's grace. "Well?!" She snapped. "What happened to me?!"

Shorty gasped and sat up before looking at her. Machiko noticed how much of a mess he looked, starting with his blaring red-rimmed eyes.

Lar'nix'va shook as he spoke to her. "Th-the Witch t-turned you and Y-Yeyinda int-t-to yautja!" His mandibles couldn't stop shaking as he spoke. "S-S-So I-" "So you what?!" Da'dtou-di snapped impatiently. She didn't particularly care that the Witch was involved somehow.  
"Were you waiting in my room to humiliate me further?! Maybe trying to harass me in my sleep? Or even better! Were you trying to kill me again?!" She roared at him.

Lar'nix'va felt each break in his heart as she spat out accusations against him. He tried to respond to her, but his voice was weak. "_M-di_, I was-" "What?! What were you doing?!" She snapped at him.

Lar'nix'va finally broke down into tears.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you, I promise!" His throat closed on him as he sobbed. "I promise I wasn't trying to harass you, or humiliate you, or-or ki-ki-ki" He couldn't say the word, the thought brought too much pain to him. Da'dtou-di finished it for him. "Kill me. . ."

Lar'nix'va let out a choked sob as she said it. His vision blurred in front of him and his heart kept stopping and then beating rapidly like it didn't know which one to do. He couldn't tell what words were coming out of his mouth, but he was pretty sure that he was begging Da'dtou-di to believe him.

Subconsciously, Lar'nix'va heard her bedroom door open nearby.

He paid it no mind at first in his distraught state until he finally heard Da'dtou-di speaking again.  
"Get out!"  
Like a kick from karma herself, Lar'nix'va felt Da'dtou-di's foot connect with his chest. The air left his lungs as he went flying back. He vaguely felt himself skid along the ground and out her door before coming to a halt out in the hallway.

He looked up just in time to see her slam the door shut.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**ooman: **human

-**Sei-I: ** Yes

-**pauk:** Fu**

-**Lou-dte kale:** Child bearer/female (A slur for women. Kind of like calling someone a bi***)

-**Paya: **Their God of storms and hunting, sometimes also considered the God of death.

-**M-di: **No

_So just so ya'll are aware, I'm bringing the girls to the Area 51 raid with me. They can join the kyles when they go to attack the wall._

_Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The boy's suffering is not done yet. Not by a long shot. Prepare for more tears!_

_I shall see thee all in the next chapter. Bye!_


	17. Chapter14 In Which They Cry

Yeyinda had been in her room for two sun cycles without coming out once.

Vk'leita stared at the door nervously as the bowl of soup shook in his hands. He had been informed earlier that Da'dtou-di had awakened around the same time that Yeyinda had as well. Neither woman had left their rooms, not even to see each other. His brother had suggested this tactic to the both of them. Whenever one of his mates got angry, food usually calmed them down.

Vk'leita prayed that it was true here as well.

With a shaking fist, he knocked on the door. For several minutes, he could hear nothing. Then he finally heard Yeyinda moving around inside and approaching the door. Vk'leita almost wanted to leave the food at her door and escape, but he knew he needed to do this. He needed to make things right, even if it seemed impossible.

Yeyinda opened the door and Vk'leita internally cringed at the sight of her. She looked tired and worn down. Her bruise had healed a little bit, but Vk'leita could still see the angry purple and black in the middle of it.

All because of him. . .

Despite being tired, Yeyinda managed to glare at him. "What do you want, Topknot?" She snapped. Vk'leita couldn't speak at first, but he did manage to hold the bowl up to her. He finally got his mandibles to click together when she turned her angry gaze on the bowl instead of him. "I j-just thought that you'd n-need something t-to eat." He hated the way he stuttered, but he couldn't help it. His heart was racing in his chest and his desperation was increasing his anxiety about the situation.

Vk'leita didn't know if she was just too tired to deny him, or too hungry, but by sheer miracle, Yeyinda let out a sigh and nodded her head. She stepped aside to let him in.

Vk'leita entered the room and set the bowl down on the table close to her makeshift bed. In doing so, he took a moment to look around.  
Yeyinda had destroyed nearly everything when he had left the first time, it seemed. Her objects she had brought from her****ooman ****life lay in pieces on the floor. Her pet's cage was torn up, and the pet itself was loose in the room, making strange squawking noises.

He set the bowl down and heard Yeyinda shift behind him before speaking. "If that's all you came to do, please leave now." Her tone was harsh and more of a demand than a request.

Vk'leita felt his heart speed up for a moment as panic overtook him. He turned and looked at Yeyinda with desperate eyes. "It-It's not! I mean. . .I need to talk to you as well." He gulped and hated himself even more for how he sounded. He went from a leader with nothing but surety about his life, to the feeling of a pup trying to reason with an angry mother.

An angry mother probably would have been easier to handle right now.

Yeyinda glared at him, but reluctantly kept silent as she let him continue on. Vk'leita rose shaky hands in a subconscious gesture of peace to her. "Yeyinda, I'm sorry!" He gasped. "If I had known, or even thought it was possible that you were going to become a yautja, I wouldn't have-" "Excuse me?! Why would me being one of you have anything to do with you giving Da'dtou-di and I even a drop of respect, much less being a legitimate comrade?!" She snapped, interrupting him. Vk'leita felt his resolve begin to crumble as the breath caught in his throat. "I-I. . .I don't kn-" "Why did you ****hate**** us so much?!" Yeyinda yelled, interrupting him again. "Why did you hate Da'dtou-di and I enough that you would even go to the lengths of beating us up when you knew we had no chances of fighting back? To the lengths that you would try to have us ****killed**** by the Queen?!"

Vk'leita felt his eyes grow wet again as he tried to speak. "Becau-because you were _ooman_, and we. . .we didn't want. . .we didn't want _oomans_ to be our equals." The words felt like knives to his throat as they left his mouth. He knew what the truth would sound like to her.

The look of betrayal in her eyes as she stared at him with her mandibles spread in shock caused the first tears to leave his eyes again. "Two years. . .two years of hunting with you, eating with you, sleeping with you, and fighting with you. . .none of that proved that we belonged?!" She cried out. "None of that proved that we earned your favor, or respect? None of that showed what we were capable of to you? None of that ****meant**** anything to you?!"

Vk'leita stared at the floor as his mandibles drooped to show his shame and his answer. None of it had mattered to him then. . .but it did now. . .

Yeyinda let out a sound that came across as grief stricken and Vk'leita's heart clenched painfully at the noise. Looking up, he saw that her eyes had grown wet as well and panic overtook him. He subconsciously took a step towards her and held up his hands in desperation. "Yeyinda, I'm sorry!" He cried out. "It means something to me now!" "Only because I'm no longer human!" She shouted back. Then she froze and looked at him. Vk'leita watched her expression turn to one of angry suspicion. Her glare was sharp once again. "Topknot. . .what did you hunt while I was unconscious?" Her tone was dark and deadly. Vk'leita was confused. "Nothing! I was by your side when the Witch-" "I'm not talking about that time!" Yeyinda snapped. "I'm talking about when you****punched**** me and I was gone for three days! What did you hunt?!" Vk'leita felt his heart stop and his mind go blank for a moment as his stomach turned in circles. The answer was there and it was the one thing he hadn't wanted to say to her.

Swallowing the air in his throat, Vk'leita's tongue went dry as he answered. "****Kiande Amedha****. . .and_ ooman_. . ."

His heart stopped once again as Yeyinda fell to the floor on her knees and burst into tears. Her sobs reached his hearing canals and the scent of her sorrow caused his chest to let out a painfully dangerous thud. Vk'leita fell to the floor in heavy sobs as well.  
It was considered extremely shameful to cause a woman to cry amongst his kind. The reason being that you had to have done an extremely heinous crime to do it. The women of his kind, by their own biology, naturally become angry first if something upset them. Anger was always their first reaction whenever something was wrong. If something was extremely upsetting to them, you had to have done something truly terrible for them to skip their own biological instincts and go straight to crying.

Vk'leita felt another twist in his chest and it brought him further to the ground.

There was another, even more dangerous reason for there being shame in making a woman cry. Their sorrow was powerful and potent. It released a pheromone that caused any nearby males to become physically damaged in their hearts if it reached their scent glands. Whoever the sorrow was directed at got it worse. It was a slow, painful, torturous process that slowly damages their flesh over time.

Vk'leita felt his stomach heave and twist as pain radiated from his chest with each thud of his heart.

"Get out!" Yeyinda cried out, but it sounded more like she was begging him to leave. Vk'leita slowly lifted his head and felt his throat let out a piteous begging whine. "Yeyinda, please-" "Leave!" She screamed, crying harder in the process. Vk'leita didn't know where he had gotten the strength, but he somehow managed to drag himself out of the room as she had demanded him to.

As soon as he was out in the hallway, the door automatically slammed shut behind him.

* * *

Lar'nix'va stared with fear at the door as he tried once again to talk to Da'dtou-di.

Over the past two sun cycles, he had been trying to get into her room to talk to her and set things right. She held nothing but rage for him, and it made him physically sick with worry. She refused to eat, even when he brought her meals the first cycle that she refused to leave her room. Now Lar'nix'va wasn't just worried about his future with her, but he was also worried that she wasn't taking care of herself.

A desperate need to take care of her took over him and he hadn't left her door since.

Machiko, meanwhile, was getting annoyed. She had hoped that Shorty would leave her eventually so she could sneak out and go see Helena, but the pest wouldn't go away. They could only communicate using their wrist gauntlets, and that was with text only. Apparently Topknot wouldn't leave Helena alone either, causing Machiko missed opportunities whenever Shorty did leave for a small moment.

Machiko looked at the door and growled low to herself. She could hear him breathing behind her door from inside her room, thanks to her new body and its abilities. If she didn't give him what he wanted, the twerp would never leave her alone.

Putting on her signature look that got her dubbed as the 'ice-queen' in nicknames past, Machiko opened the door.

Before she could even blink, Shorty hurtled into her and wrapped his arms around her hips. Machiko gapped in surprise as he buried his head against her still bruised ribs. She was about to yell at him when, to her surprise, she heard him crying. Great heaving sobs left his throat and Machiko was taken aback with how human it almost sounded.

'_I guess we all cry the same._' She mentally thought to herself when Shorty started speaking with his face still pressed against her.

"I'm sorry Da'dtou-di!" He wailed. Machiko was stunned into silence, so he kept talking. "I'm sorry with the way I behaved! I'm sorry for hurting you! I am so, so sorry!" Machiko felt him hold her as tight as possible without breaking her ribs and she sighed.

She was too tired to deal with him at the moment.

Being more gentle than she intended to, she pushed Shorty off of her and stepped back. Shorty tried to resist her pushing at first, but then he gave in and let her have her space. He tearfully looked down at the floor and tried to breath through his tightened throat as he waited for her to do something.

Finally, Machiko spoke. "Shorty. How can I forgive you when you helped to kill my kind?"

Machiko watched him freeze on the spot and she gave him a moment to let it sink in. She knew they had hunted humans when she was taking care of Helena. She had seen the skulls the few times she had ventured out of the room to grab a bite to eat or to relieve herself. And she had seen Shorty carrying several in his arms during that time as well.

Because of that, her dreams had been memories of the massacre her people had endured when Dachande had lead his own band of killers on planet Ryushi.

Machiko felt tears gathering in her eyes as the memory of then and the hunt from just a few days past brought the full sense of betrayal upon her now. She opened her mandibles and felt her own throat tighten as she spoke. "If I had known that your kind deliberately hunted mine for sport, I would have never come here with Dachande. If I had known that you and everyone else would harass me for being different from you, I would have never have come. I would have stayed behind on the planet and just gone home on the first opportunity to do so."

Lar'nix'va felt his heart still in his chest as the scent of sorrow reached his scent glands. Then a slow, painful thud began to ring in his chest.  
She was crying.

Regret like he had never felt before filled his heart and caused his stomach to knot up again. He was on the verge of throwing up like he had in her hospital room.  
Machiko didn't see all of this as she was staring at the floor and silently crying. She didn't hear him as he gasped while clutching his chest and his stomach. She just wanted him to leave.

And she told him to do just that.

Lar'nix'va fled the room. He ran until he came across the nearest dump station and emptied the contents of his stomach into one of the drains. The station was about the only place of privacy the unbloodeds got on the ship. Lar'nix'va allowed himself to curl up on the floor and shake in pain as his chest throbbed with it. The pheromones from her sorrow stuck to him and wouldn't release him from their hold.  
Lar'nix'va felt like a coward for running, but he didn't know what else to do. He screwed things up too bad to fix, to the point of causing his mate to cry. He had no excuse for his actions. None that were justifiable to her, anyway. His resentment towards her completely blinded him to his horrible actions towards her, and he didn't know how to fix that.

But he had to try.

He had to try and fix things. If not for the fact that **Paya **put her in his life, then for the simple fact that she deserved to not be troubled by his stupid actions. She deserved some peace of mind from what he had done.

With shaking limbs, Lar'nix'va dragged himself back to her room.

* * *

Dachande did not make his entrance known when he returned to the ship.

In fact, he went out of his way to avoid everyone by going through the places he knew hardly any of them went. His cloaking device helped a lot in that department as well. Due to his shortcuts, he ended up going through the back end of the hallway rooms given to the blooded warriors on the ship. This caused him to go to Helena's room first.

When he got there he spotted Vk'leita sitting on the floor, curled up in himself.

Dachande was shocked by the sorry state his second in command was in. Vk'leita looked like a mess. By the smell coming off of him, he hadn't bothered to wash in several sun cycles either. His sorrow was palpable as well. Dachande uncloaked himself with his gauntlet and Vk'leita looked up at the noise it made. Dachande cringed at the sight of his red rimmed eyes. He didn't know what could possible cause his stony, no-nonsense partner to cry! Vk'leita was always passionate about being professional. What could possibly crack his exterior now?

"Rise." Dachande commanded with no room to argue.

Vk'leita silently did so and Dachande was shocked to see that he refused to meet his eyes. Vk'leita always met his eyes, despite being slightly lower in station than him. Vk'leita was always challenging his position in leadership. Why wasn't he doing so now?

Dachande let none of these emotions show on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You have a lot of explaining to do." He clicked.

Vk'leita's lower mandibles drooped in a frown as he softly answered Dachande back, sounding completely defeated. "I'm not proud of any of it."  
Dachande blinked at him and then continued. "I sent the messenger back to tell you I was coming. Did he not give you my message?" Vk'leita weakly shook his head. "**M-di**. . .I've been away from the clan for several sun cycles. . .my **mei'hswei** has been overseeing the ship in my absence." His words had no strength in their tone. Vk'leita sounded completely defeated and Dachande wanted to find out why.

He stood up straighter before talking. "I saw the ship's log recording. You hurt Yeyinda and Da'dtou-di. You neglect your duties as leader in my absence and you leave your brother, who is not of our clan, in charge. You better have a good reason why you've come to this sorry state."

A choking sound escaped Vk'leita's throat before he started to talk. "Dachande, I **pauked** up! I _pauked_ up big time! I made the most horrible mistake in my life and I fear it is beyond fixing. I'm scared to Paya's realm and back, and I have lost all control over myself. I. . .I don't know what to do!" Dachande watched with open shock as Vk'leita shook before him and openly let his emotions through. He was almost disgusted with the tears that he saw running down his face, but if anything it showed Dachande how serious this was.

He narrowed his eyes at Vk'leita and spoke. "Did you do something that would make you marked as an **ic'jit**?"

Slowly, Vk'leita shook his head. "_M-di_, legally I did not. . .though I feel I am lower than any _ic'jit_ could be right now." At Dachande's confused look, Vk'leita finally told him what was wrong. "Dachande. . .Yeyinda is my **bhu'ja jehdin**."

Dachande openly gapped at him as Vk'leita lowered his head in shame and let his tears silently fall to the floor. He waited for his leader's verdict.

The full realization of the situation hit Dachande like a slap to the face and his response was immediate. "_Pauk_! Vk'leita you fool! Do you mean to tell me that you hurt your own _bhu'ja jehdin_?! That you attacked her?!" Vk'leita vaguely nodded his head and Dachande wanted to slap him for it.  
If the fool had just respected his decision on the women a little more, he wouldn't be in this mess! If Vk'leita actually respected the mark given to blooded warriors under Dachande's teaching, he'd be with his mate right now!

Dachande took a heavy breath to get a hold of his emotions once more. He couldn't react out in anger now. Besides, Vk'leita looked to be miserable enough now as it is.

He took another breath and finally looked at Vk'leita who had leaned his weight against the wall in a pitiful manner. He clacked his mandibles to get his attention. "I will go talk to her now. . .but I can't promise that I can fix any of this." He turned to go into Helena's room and paused when he heard Vk'leita speak.

"Dachan- . . .Yeyinde be careful. . .she cries as we speak. . ."

* * *

Helena heard her door open even though it was locked, and yelled out at the intruder.

"Go away Topknot!" She shouted, arms curled around herself as she sat on her bed and buried her face in her knees. She was still crying from earlier and just didn't want to deal with anyone right now.  
She heard the footsteps stop beside her and the clanging of metal beads as a yautja's dreads hit their back. A familiar voice spoke out. "Is that a new nickname you and Machiko have given me while I was away?"

Correction. She didn't want to deal with anyone, except for him!

Helena whipped her head up and stared at Dachande as he stood before her. He gave her a pained smile and she shot up from her bed faster than a bullet. "Dachande!" She shouted while tackling him in a hug. The elder yautja stumbled backwards a bit but kept his balance steady as he hugged her back.

For a long while, the two just stood there and hugged each other before finally breaking the embrace and looking at each other.

"You're ok!" Helena said happily. Dachande tilted his head at her curiously before clicking a reply. "Why wouldn't I be?" He asked. Helena frowned at him and wiped the tears from her eyes the best she could. "You've been gone for nearly two years! Machiko and I thought. . .well, we thought that maybe you had passed away and no one had told us." She admitted. Dachande shook his head. "_M-di._ When a clan leader passes, there is a great mourning held for them. This ship would have come back home if I were dead." He explained. Helena frowned at him as he said this. "Then what kept you away all this time?" She quietly asked. Dachande sighed and sat with her back down on the bed as he went into detail explaining the council of Ancients and why it took them so long to have an audience with him. Helena listened to every detail with interest, her anger and sadness from earlier slowly slipping away.

She was slowly becoming happy again.

"So you have a council that rules your entire world?" She asked at the end of his narrative. Dachande nodded and Helena sat back on the bed. "So they're the reason it was taking so long?" Dachande nodded again. "**Sei-i**. They have issues much more important than me. I've had to be put aside for those issues many times." Helena frowned at him and Dachande tilted his head at her curiously. "What is the matter?" He asked. Helena's frown deepened as her mandibles dipped lower at him.

"Dachande. . .why? . . .Why did you not tell Machiko and I that your kind hunted humans?"

Silence filled the room as now it was Dachande's turn to frown and stare at the floor. Helena felt her heart grow heavy as more time passed. The sadness from their reality and situation was returning again. Finally, Dachande spoke.

"When I landed with my students back on your planet, we truly were only supposed to hunt the _Kiande Amedha_. It was a blooding hunt, and on a blooding hunt we are forbidden from hunting other creatures besides the _Kiande Amedha_ unless absolutely necessary. It is against our code and you are labeled an _ic'jit_ if you break it. My students all broke that code and hunted _oomans_ on their blooding hunt. Your kind were never supposed to have been the targets for their blood lust that day." Dachande clicked thoughtfully at the floor and then continued on. "Then when the Witch gave me the ability to speak to you two, we were too busy fighting for our lives for me to inform you of the code. . ." Dachande drifted off and Helena pressed him to go on. "Then what about after?" She asked, her tone a little more harsh than she meant for it to be. "When we weren't fighting for our lives and we were living peacefully together on Ryushi. Why didn't you tell us then?!"

Dachande noted the accusatory tone in her voice and calmly replied to her. "Because. . .well I stopped seeing you two as _ooman_. . .and because of that, I forgot to tell you how your kind were viewed by mine. . ."

Helena cocked her head at him and he went further on to explain.

"I stopped seeing you two as_ oomans_ and started seeing you two as companions. There was no longer a language barrier between us and as time went on, I forgot that you two grew up different. That we were different. We shared hunts together, beds together, meals, and laughs. . .It was easy for me to forget our differences and just enjoy being with you two while we were by ourselves. Does that make sense?" He asked. Helena nodded at him and Dachande was glad she understood.

"_Sei-i_, it makes sense." She said. "But. . .I wish the others could have seen us how you saw us as well. . ."

Dachande frowned at her and Helena felt her heart squeeze with reality coming back to her again. Her eyes prickled as she stared at Dachande's shocked eyes. "None of them saw me or Machiko as you did. . .and I wish you had stayed because of it." She let her tears slip again as a heavy weight fell on her shoulders once more. "I wish you hadn't left us in this hell!"

Dachande let out a gag of pain and clutched his chest in a tight grip as Helena let out a squeak of shock at seeing him like that. "Dachande!" She exclaimed before holding his shoulder with one hand and placing her other over his chest as well. She stared at him wide eyed and blinked at the tears that were blocking her vision. "What's wrong?!" She asked. Dachande took a moment to breath through the pain before answering her question in a tight voice.

"When. . . .when a woman of our kind cries. . .she emits a smell that. . .causes the male's hearts to. . .start to destroy itself. . ." He breathed.

Helena gapped at him in shock for several moments in horror at what he just said. "Oh!" She exclaimed before furiously wiping at her eyes. "I'm sorry!" She exclaimed again. "If I had known-" "_M-di_, it's alright Helena." He calmed down and finally looked up at her. "It's a slow process that would take many sun and moon cycles of continual crying on your part before any real danger would happen to me. . .you have a right to be sad after what's happened to you."

Dachande leaned back up and held his arms out to her. "I am sorry I left you two here. . .I should have realized that I couldn't trust any of the yautja here with you two either. . .I'll never leave you two with them again."

Helena gasped and gladly fell into his arms for another hug. They both needed it right now.

This hug went on for several minutes before finally the two broke apart and leaned back on the bed. Helena wiped at her eyes some more and Dachande stared at her as she did so. When she was done, Dachande clicked his mandibles at her. "Helena. . .if it is alright, I would like to know what has happened while I was gone." He prodded. "I only saw the ship's log of the Witch turning you and Machiko into us. I want to know of the events that happened before that."

Helena sighed but nodded her head. "Forgive me if I sound angry when I tell you what happened. It is not directed at you." She informed. Dachande nodded at her in understanding, and so she went on.

She explained to him the best she could, everything that had happened after he had left. How Topknot had ostracized them once Dachande was gone. How he denied them their right to climb the hunting ranks and how their last hunt together had been the capture of the Queen and their reprimand for saving the mission. How topknot had tried to have them killed in the Queen's nesting chamber. She told him about the large hunt Topknot had put together and how Machiko had stepped out of line and touched another hunter's trophy, though she was in a sort of trance when she did it.

Then she told him how Topknot had punished both of them for it.

Dachande growled low when Helena told him this part. He turned his head and glared at the door as if Topknot were there for him to chew out right at that moment. Helena wondered about it for a moment before continuing on. She told him how she had been knocked out for three days by his punch. . .and how she and Machiko had decided to leave the clan as soon as they landed on the next livable planet.

Helena didn't miss how Dachande's eyes showed that he was hurt by her words of leaving. But he did a good job masking it.

When she was done telling the story, Dachande stared at the bed for a long while before speaking. He clicked his mandibles slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Helena. . .do you. . .do you and Machiko. . .regret saving my life?" Helena blinked at him and her mandibles fell open in shock at the suggestion. "_M-di_!" She exclaimed. "Of course I don't regret helping you! I'll never regret meeting you and helping you live. I'm sure Machiko doesn't either!" She insisted.

Dachande looked up at her and Helena frowned at him before continuing. "But. . . .but if I had known. . . . .If I had known that life would be like it was living here. . .I'm sorry Dachande. . .but I don't think I would have accepted your offer to come with you. . ."

Helena hung her head and took a deep breath as she waited for Dachande's reaction. For a while, nothing happened and she feared that Dachande had left.

Then she felt his hand on her shoulder and looked up at him. His lower mandibles drooped at her, but he nodded his head in understanding. "Helena. . .If I had known how my kind would have treated you in my absence. . .I wouldn't have invited you both to come. If nothing more than to spare you both the pain of being in a place where you're not accepted. . .I'm sorry. . ."

Helena stared at him for a moment before silently hugging him. He returned the hug and both stayed like that for several minutes.

Dachande knew he had to go talk to Machiko next. . .

* * *

Lar'nix'va was leaning his weight against Machiko's door when Dachande arrived.

Dachande was shocked to find him to be just as much of a mess as he had found Vk'leita in. He stopped right before the short yautja and blew out an irritated sigh. "Lar'nix'va, don't tell me that you made the same mistake as Vk'leita. Don't tell me that Da'dtou-di is your _bhu'ja jehdin_ as well."

By the look Lar'nix'va gave him when he lifted his head to meet his eyes, it was true.

Dachande threw his head back in irritation and let out a growl. "It seems I am surrounded by fools! Are none of you capable of seeing past your egos?" He snapped. Lar'nix'va frowned at him and that was all the answer Dachande needed. "I'm going in now to talk to her. Give her the privacy she deserves." He commanded. Lar'nix'va silently nodded and stood up, moving down the hall. He was an unblooded, and he wasn't supposed to defy commands even if he wanted to.

Dachande watched him leave before turning towards Machiko's door and pressing his hand to the surface. The door recognized his touch and let him through, even though she had locked it. A perk of being the leader of the ship.

As soon as he entered the room, he had to duck down from a spear being thrown at his head.

Looking up in shock, Dachande found Machiko angrily staring down at him, another spear in her hands already. She aimed the weapon again and Dachande had to roll away in order not to be hit as it flew past him. "Have you forgotten me?!" He shouted as she went for a third spear. Machiko picked it up and aimed. "Oh I haven't forgotten you, Dachande." She hissed and threw it at him. Dachande rolled away again and looked at her with confusion. "Then why-" "YOU LEFT US HERE!" Machiko shouted, now picking up a knife to throw. She flung the projectile and it grazed his armor as he dodged to the side. "You left us here and you didn't come back for two _pauking_ years! And you. Didn't. Tell. Us. that your kind hunted humans!"

Dachande barely had time to register the hurt in her voice before he had to dodge her mask that she threw at him.

"You left us completely blind to the hate that your kind has for us! You trapped us here with the false hope that we could be accepted as comrades! You made us believe that we could **trust** you!" Machiko picked up a book on her nightstand and threw it at him. When Dachande looked up at her, he could see tears forming in her eyes as she looked at him with the betrayal she felt from him.

"You left us here to die. . ."

Machiko let a sob escape her throat and then she felt strong arms encircling her frame. She cried harder as Dachande picked her up and brought her over to her bed, sitting down with her and holding her close. He let her cry for several minutes before saying anything. "I'm sorry." He clicked, though his mandibles didn't have a lot of force behind it. His physical pain from her sorrow was making it hard to speak. "I'm sorry! I should have never trusted my kind to treat you right. I should have known that they would go out of their way to torment you as soon as I was gone. I. . .I'm so sorry that I was a fool, Machiko."

Machiko's tears began to slow down as she listened to him speak. For a long while, neither of them spoke and just held each other until they both calmed down.

When Machiko was finally calm enough, she let go of Dachande and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands. "I'm sorry for throwing things at you." She quietly said. Dachande, no longer in as much pain as before, gave a weak chuckle at that. "It's alright. We'll just call it training and say I was practicing my dodging." Machiko gave a small giggle back with her mandibles rapidly clicking and then she hugged him again. "I'm glad you're back." She softly said. Dachande rubbed her shoulders and nodded against her neck before replying.

"_Sei-i_, I am too."

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**ooman:** human

-**Kiande Amedha:** hard meat (xenomorph)

-**Paya:** Their God of storms and hunts, sometimes also considered the god of death.

-**M-di:** no

-**mei'hswei:** brother

-**pauk:** F***

-**ic'jit:** bad blood (their translation for 'criminal')

-**bhu'ja jehdin:** Spirit Spar (their version of a soul mate. Meaning 'The one who will fight life by my side'.)

-**Sei-i:** yes

_Did ya'll think that Dachande was going to get out of this without getting yelled at? Nope! They're angry at him too. Or at least, they were angry.  
Anyway, give me your feedback please! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter or the story in general. Just remember, I won't give any spoilers if you ask._

_Some responses to my guest readers on this website:  
Little Tusk: My Wattpad stories are here, it's just the two Predator ones. I have other non-predator stories on my wattpad account, but I honestly want nothing to do with those anymore. Those will be staying on Wattpad. And Wattpad doesn't cost anything to join, it's free. I even enjoy it more than this site some times. It's easier to reply to people there._

_Well-wisher: You see, about that ship of yours. . .well. . .I can't give spoilers on their futures.  
_

_Bye for now!_


	18. Chapter15 In Which Bones Burn

After Dachande had made sure that the women were alright and comforted, he made his presence on the ship known.

It was a big commotion when Dachande came out into the open, but it all quickly died down when they saw the angry expression in his eyes. They all knew why he was angry too. Dachande confronted Vk'leita's brother and dismissed him from his temporary leadership duty, but gave him the option to see his brother for a little while longer. Vk'leita's brother took that offer and went to go see Vk'leita one last time.

Vk'leita was in his room, staring up at his wall of trophies.

It held many skulls from his countless hunts. Ever since joining Dachande on his ship, ****Kiande Amedha**** skulls were the most frequent ones to see. He had more of those than any other skull.  
It wasn't those skulls he was looking at right now.

Further up on the wall, Vk'leita looked at the rows of ****ooman**** skulls that formed a line at the top.

The last hunt hadn't been the first time he had hunted _oomans_. He had hunted them plenty of times in the past. They were almost as coveted as _Kiande Amedha_ skulls, but only if they were truly worthy warriors. His kind called them ****Pyode Amedha**** for a reason. Their flesh was soft and too easy to tear apart. Their strength was laughably low, and their speed couldn't even come close to their own. Only the skulls of the bravest _oomans_ were considered something to be proud of achieving.

Tonight, Vk'leita didn't feel proud at all about them.

The empty eye sockets all seemed to be staring down at him, mocking him for what he had done. Each one a testament to the personal crimes he had committed against Yeyinda. Vk'leita stared at them hopelessly back. There seemed too many to repent to her for.

If she knew this. If she saw just how many _ooman_ skulls he had. . .would she try to kill him for it?

He wouldn't blame her if she did. Thinking deeper on it, he realized he would probably react much the same way if he saw his kind's skulls lined up on another specie's trophy wall. Though he didn't know if it would be in rage or just a determination to prove that his species was better in the end.

Behind him, a fire burned with savage life.

Turning, he looked back at the fiery pit that crackled in the center of his room. Normally this pit was just used for cleaning and preserving skulls, but now he debated on using it for a different purpose. Vk'leita wanted to use the fire to burn the _ooman_ skulls and never see them again. There were too many problems that came with it though.

The biggest being that it felt too much like trying to hide what he had done from her.

If he burned the skulls and she never saw them, then it felt like he was lying to her. Sure, she knew about the skulls from his last hunt, but she didn't know about all of them. She didn't know for how long he had been hunting her kind.

On the other hand, continuing to keep them felt like he was declaring that he was still proud of them.

He didn't want to hide what he had done from her, but if she saw them, would she think he was still proud to have hunted them? Would she give him a chance to explain why he still kept them?

Vk'leita was stuck between both options when the door to his room opened.

The familiar scent that hit his glands told him who it was. Vk'leita turned to greet his brother, who in turn opened up his arms for their familiar hug. Vk'leita met him in the hug and both silently turned back towards the wall to look at Vk'leita's trophies. It didn't take long for his brother to guess what Vk'leita had been planning to do. "You were going to destroy them?" He clicked.

Vk'leita gave a single nod of his head before pointing towards the fire. "I. . .have been debating about it."

Vk'leita went on to tell him his reasons for why he wanted to do it and why he hesitated. His brother listened patiently as Vk'leita rambled about how his decision could affect his mate. Vk'leita's brother tried to understand the view point of both Vk'leita and his _ooman_ mate, Yeyinda. He was never particularly fond of them, _oomans_, and often found their ways of thinking to be pointless, even disastrous to their own kind. Being sentimental about a stranger's death was one of the things he viewed _oomans_ as weak for.

But still, he saw where Vk'leita was coming from. He was worried for the pathetic _ooman_, turned yautja.

Vk'leita watched his brother sigh when he was done with his rambling. Both brothers tapped their toes on the floor, a habit they both developed for when they were deep in thought. Vk'leita's had a more nervous rhythm to it though. Finally, his brother spoke up.

"I do not think she needs to know the extent of your hunting."

Vk'leita tilted his head at him curiously and his brother continued on. "Knowing the actual amount will bring her more pain than it is worth. It is not necessary that she know it. . .but if she ends up asking about it in the future, you must be honest with her. Lying will make it worse."

Vk'leita turned his head back towards the fire and frowned at it. "So. . .you think I should go through with destroying them?"

His brother nodded and Vk'leita sighed. "I will trust your judgement on this." "Good. You need something to take your mind off of her anyway." "That's going to be hard to do. Impossible, even." Vk'leita replied. His brother shook his head. "You've got to try. For your own mind's sake. Crying about her constantly will not fix things. It certainly won't help you figure out what to do to fix things with her when all you're thinking about is what you did wrong."

Vk'leita was silent for a moment before vaguely nodding his head in acknowledgement to his brother. "Thank you, ****Mei'hswei****." Vk'leita felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see his brother softly smiling at him, top mandibles raised high. "I accept your thanks in full." He replied.

Both moved towards the wall and together they removed the _ooman_ skulls.

Vk'leita watched them burn in the pit.

* * *

Cli-var walked with Lar'nix'va down to the unblooded trophy room as quickly as they could.

Cli-var knew what Lar'nix'va intended to do, and he thought it was foolish of him to do it. Destroying his own trophies would only lesson his stance in the social ranks, and Lar'nix'va was already low as it is. Destroying your own trophies meant you thought that the skulls weren't actually honorably gained and you had made foolish judgement in thinking that they were so.

Lar'nix'va refused to explain why he wanted to do it, but Cli-var didn't need him to. The answer was obvious to him.

Once at the trophy room, Lar'nix'va and Cli-var placed their palms on the door and entered in after it unlocked. While anyone could get into the trophy room, a log was kept of who went in and who went out at what times. Security plates were everywhere to watch what everyone did while in that room. There have been thievery attempts in the past and measures were taken to counter it.

Lar'nix'va knew he was being watched and he knew that recordings of him destroying his own trophies were going to be kept.

He didn't care. He just wanted them gone.

Searching for his set of skulls, he found his display of trophies all along the back of the room. His name was etched into the pedestals holding up the skulls from underneath, claiming them as his. Not all of them were _ooman_ skulls, but they did make up the majority of his collection. Grabbing each one, he brought it over to the fire pit they kept in the center of the room. It's purpose was for cleaning the skulls, but right now he needed it for something else.

Reaching his hand over the pit, he let the first skull drop to the depths.

Lar'nix'va turned to Cli-var and motioned towards him. "I don't mind if you take them off and burn them as well." He invited. It was rude for a hunter to touch another hunter's trophy unless given permission to do so, even if Lar'nix'va was already going to destroy them all. Cli-var tilted his head in acknowledgement towards Lar'nix'va and reached for the nearest _ooman_ skull.

Lar'nix'va saw which one he was going for and panicked. "Not that one!" He exclaimed. "That's not _ooman_!"

Cli-var stopped his hand with a jolt and turned towards Lar'nix'va. "Are you sure it's not?" He asked. Lar'nix'va nodded is head and pointed at it. "I killed that one when I was a pup. It's not _ooman_, but the _oomans_ call them. . .I think it was. . .munkeye? Munkel. . .mun-" "Do you mean monkey?" Cli-var offered. Lar'nix'va pointed at him. "**Sei-i**! That one!" He nodded. "On a trip to one of the _ooman_ planets, my father was training me to hunt when one of those. . .monkeys, came out and attacked me. It's my first kill." He said proudly.

Cli-var could do nothing but blink. "Wasn't your first kill supposed to be a **dra'then** like the rest of us?" He asked.

Lar'nix'va shrugged. "It still counts. The thing attacked me first. I was just defending myself." "You make a fair point." Cli-var admitted. Reaching back over, he grabbed another skull and motioned at it while looking at Lar'nix'va. "Is this one another monkey?" Lar'nix'va couldn't help but chuckle at this and shook his head. "**M-di.** That one is _ooman_." "Good." Cli-var picked it up and carried it over to the fire pit. He dropped it in unceremoniously and went back to get more.

Pretty soon, nearly all of Lar'nix'va's trophies were gone.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Kiande Amedha: **Hard meat/xenomorph

-**ooman: **human

-**Pyode Amedha: **soft meat/ human

-**Mei'hswei: **Brother

-**Sei-i: **yes

-**dra'then: **A creature I completely made up. Feel free to think of what it is as you wish while I decide what it will actually be.

-**M-di:** no

_First off! I'm sorry this is late, and I'm sorry this is short. I've had a rough last couple of weeks and I needed a break from writing. This is all I could mentally produce this time. Again, I'm sorry. Future chapter won't be anywhere near this short, I promise._

_Anyway, I'll be gone for a week again. I've got a trip to visit family to look forward to. I'll see you all later!_


	19. Chapter16 In Which There's Sneaking

Dachande stared unblinkingly at the crowd of unbloodeds gathered around at his feet. The makeshift stage kept him high above the rest so all could see him.

As soon as the last unblooded entered the room, he began to speak to the masses.

"There will be a hunt today! Despite the incident that happened several sun and moon cycles ago, your training will pick up again with the next hunt tonight. Kiande Amedha eggs are already being sent out for the oldest years now. Tonight you will receive your marks or die trying. All of the younger years will be accompanied by a blooded warrior onto neighboring planets for separate hunts."

Rapid clicking was heard through the room as discussion about the hunt picked up. One young yautja shouted out for Dachande to hear. "Will you be leading the blooding hunt tonight?"

Dachande glared at the speaker as the room went silent for his answer. "****M-di****. I'm done taking on students." He replied in a dark tone. At first no one said anything else until one of the youngest unblooded in the whole group got bold and asked another question of Dachande. "Will the females be joining us?" He asked with a little too much eagerness. Dachande could instantly smell the arousal from the group as the adolescents thought of the beautiful females that were currently on board with them. Dachande knew all of these pups were eager to be blooded so they could be declared adults and could start the exciting process of mating and making more pups to further their name. It was a natural reaction.  
The question, however, sent him into a rage. One quick look at Vk'leita in the back and Lar'nix'va beside him told him they were in a rage as well.

Dachande opened his mandibles and roared.

"Not one of you are to disturb or go near those females! _M-di_ one, blooded or unblooded-" He gave a pointed look at the crowd as he said this. "-are allowed to make any attempts at mating with them. If I so much as hear that any of you have disturbed them-. . . .well, I won't have to do anything. I'll just let them rip you apart themselves." He lifted a mandible in a smirk as he saw their horrified expressions aimed at him. One of the older unbloodeds got angry back at him. "You would let them attack us?! They're ****ooman****!" He shouted.

Much to the crowd's amazement, Dachande took a running leap off of the stage and landed right in front of the offended yautja. The nearest pups backed up to give them room as Dachande raised his fist and brought it down against the pup's jaw, sending him to the floor. The unblooded fell with a thud, but glared up at Dachande from the floor, not daring to get up. Dachande gave a threatening growl at him before looking at the rest of the crowd. "If any of you want to fight them, be my guest. They've got plenty of anger saved just for all of you. I'm sure they'd love the excuse to take it out on you." When everyone remained silent and staring, Dachande turned around and climbed back onto the stage. He turned towards them all again.

"I blooded those women for a reason. A reason none of you seem to respect until now. So you're all going to find out the hard way why I blooded them. If any of you irritate them or go out of your way to harass them, I give them full pardon to do with you as they wish. You've been warned."  
He gave everyone in the room a hard look, blooded and unblooded, and all turned their eyes to avoid his in shame.

Dachande cleared his throat and shook his head. "You will receive the name of your hunting leader in an hour on your wrist gauntlets. For now, go prepare for the hunt. Dismissed!"

The room was empty before he knew it.

* * *

Machiko walked down the hallway back towards her room after Dachande had dismissed the meeting.

She and Helena had stayed high up in the rafters during the meeting upon Dachande's request and she was glad they did. She almost jumped down during it just to fight a couple of them. They stayed out of sight during the whole meeting and didn't come down until everyone had left. When they dropped down, Dachande had approached them with an offer. He was going to hunt on a nearby planet away from the rest of the unbloodeds. He gave them the option to come hunting with him.

Of course she and Helena had said yes.

Her mind was currently on the hunt. What she'd need and how quickly she could get ready. She didn't notice the group of unbloodeds approaching her until they had surrounded her on all sides. When she looked up, she glared at the one standing in front of her. "Move." She said in a dark voice. The unblooded didn't budge and even smirked at her. "Sorry, leader's orders." He clicked back. Machiko blinked at him in confusion. "Dachande sent you?" The unbloodeds around her let out a laugh that clearly said they thought she was ignorant. Machiko curled her hands into fists at her sides, but didn't start swinging, yet. A voice spoke up behind her. "He means me."  
Machiko turned and saw a young yautja, bigger than the others. He stared up at her with a look that Machiko was sadly all too familiar with from back on earth. She glared at the guy, who was still shorter than her, thankfully. "And what do you want?" She snapped at him. In a blink, the guy grabbed her hips and pulled her close before she could react. "You." He purred lecherously.

The unblooded leaned his head down towards her breasts when he felt the sides of his face being grabbed. Looking up, the next thing he knew his forehead hurt and he was seeing stars.

Machiko had grabbed his head and had slammed hers into his as hard as she could. The little punk fell to the floor in a heap and didn't get back up. Whipping around, Machiko saw the others look like they were ready to charge her. Holding her hand up, she curled her talons in a threatening way before glaring at each of them. "The next one to come at me gets his eyes plucked out!" She warned. "We'll see how well you can hunt when you can't see at all!"

The group backed up as they gave her weary glances. Turning around, Machiko gave the offender one last kick to the balls before stomping back off towards her room.

* * *

Helena sat in her room, staring at the photo of her past family once more. She was disturbed by what she saw.

Her human partner in the photo no longer looked. . .attractive to her.  
Yes, they had been about to have a divorce when the car crash happened, but he was still somewhat attractive to her even then. Now when she looked at him, his face just seemed. . .weird to her. She thought back on past crushes that she had and realized that it was the same thing. Their faces no longer seemed appealing to her. Almost unnatural, even. The only exception was her son, who's face she'd love no matter what.

But the discovery just got weirder from there. Specifically concerning the yautja's faces.

Just as she was about to put the photo away, her door opened up behind her. The scent of Machiko hit her nose and Helena turned to see her friend stride in. Helena sent her a smile and Machiko gave her a small one back. "Are you alright?" Machiko asked, noticing that Helena was holding the old photo again. Helena nodded at her and set the photo down. "I'm just. . .feeling weird about something." Helena admitted. Machiko cocked her head at her friend and walked to stand by her side. "What about?" She asked. Helena noted with some interest that Machiko's voice and clicks sounded a little deeper than her own.

Shaking her head, Helena pointed at the photo. "It's just. . .their faces. . .I don't know."

"They no longer look good." Machiko finished for her. Helena turned and rose an eyebrow at her. "How'd you know?" She asked. Machiko rolled her head and popped her neck before answering. "I noticed it on. . .I think the second or third day of becoming one of them. I was trying to calm down by thinking of my family but for some reason their faces. . .seemed off." Helena frowned and looked back down at the picture. "Why are we feeling this way?" She asked. Machiko tapped her shoulder and pointed at the door. "I'll give you a hint. Think of Dachande's face. What do you see? And I mean really think about him."

Helena thought that the request was a bit weird, but nodded her head and concentrated.

Picturing Dachande's face, she took a moment to really think of his features. They were strong and chiseled, something she thought only humans could look like. They were well defined, especially the bones of his mandibles, and they were. . . oh no. . .oh no, oh no! He was attractive! Somehow, in some way, Helena found Dachande's face to be appealing!

Upon seeing Helena's horrified face combined with shock from her realization, Machiko spoke up for her. "Getting a little hot under the collar thinking about him there?" Her tone had a light tease in it, but she knew Helena was freaking out just like she had.

Helena nodded with gapping mandibles and nearly fell over on the bed. "H-How?!" She exclaimed.

Machiko strode over and sat by her on the mattress before explaining her theory. "I think the Witch made us also see their faces like how we saw human faces. We can understand all of their expressions now, and see the full depth of their emotions. And. . .yeah, we can apparently now be sexually attracted to them." It pained Machiko to admit it. They were the last people she wanted to be attracted to.  
Judging by Helena's reaction, she felt much the same way.

She almost looked ready to have a panic attack. She stuttered as she spoke. "Th-their bodies I can understand. The structure is similar to a human male's. That makes sense to me. But their faces! How can we be attracted to that?! It's nothing like ours-" "Except their faces are ours now." Machiko softly interrupted.

Helena looked over at her as Machiko stared straight ahead.

"We've got the same face anatomy now. Because of that, we can no longer see human faces like we used to. We. . .we see the yautja faces as attractive because now we share it with them." Machiko reached up and touched her mandibles thoughtfully as she said this. Helena's own mandibles drooped into a scowl as she thought of this. "Well I prefer my human lips." She said stubbornly. Machiko turned her head to look at her and Helena pointed towards her mouth. "At least with my lips I could keep my food in my mouth. These dumb things can't keep a fly trapped if they wanted to!" Machiko couldn't help herself.

She burst into laughter and fell over backwards, Helena following her.

* * *

A hand on Lar'nix'va's shoulder stopped him from entering the launch pod that Da'dtou-di, Yeyinda and Dachande had entered into.

With a sudden thump of panic in his heart, Lar'nix'va turned to see who had stopped him.

Vk'leita stared down at him hard, expression unreadable. Lar'nix'va almost shrunk under his stern gaze. "You weren't planning anything stupid, were you?" Vk'leita asked, though it was a redundant question. Lar'nix'va opened his mandibles to respond. "I was just. . .I was. . .I'm not entirely sure." He finally admitted, looking down at the ground. "I just didn't want to leave her alone. . ."  
It was silent between them for several seconds before Lar'nix'va heard Vk'leita shift his weight beside him. Looking up, Lar'nix'va saw the second in command leader open the hatch door to a different pod and motion for him to get inside. Lar'nix'va stared at him so Vk'leita replied. "I was going to do the same thing." He nodded his head in acknowledgement. "But we've got to travel separately in case we need to get back before them." "I'm allowed to come along?" Lar'nix'va asked wearily.

Vk'leita nodded and Lar'nix'va immediately hopped inside.

* * *

Dachande watched from a peak as the twin suns of the planet set in the west.

His mandibles lifted in a smile as he sat beside Helena and Machiko. They had finished hunting for the day and were now cleaning their kills by the fire for trophies. An animal was skewered through a spit above the fire for their meal. Helena had commented that it looked close to one of their own from back on earth. A 'pig', she called it.

Whatever it was, it smelled good.

Dachande sat back and sighed in contentment as the peaceful evening washed over him. The day had been successful and he couldn't have asked for any better. Closing his eyes, he almost drifted off to sleep when he felt a crested head lay against the bicep of his arm. Peaking one eye open, he grinned as he saw that Helena had lain down against him. She tucked her face against him and took a tired breath while resting a hand on his chest. Dachande was about to curl his arm around her when he felt Machiko take up his other arm. His grin grew as both women nestled against him.

"Just like before." He softly clicked, looking up at the sky.

"**Sei-i**." Machiko yawned. "Only this time we can't sleep until tomorrow. We'll need to leave to get back soon." "We could back on the ship." Dachande offered. Helena chuckled. "I don't think we'd get any rest. There's so may yautja coming in and out of your room for your attention, Da'dtou-di and I might be kept awake all night."  
Now Dachande chuckled. "I could keep the door locked." He purred. On que, both women pinched his sides teasingly. "Not tonight Dachande." Helena replied with a false stern tone. Dachande chuckled again, though there was a slight pang of disappointment.

They were beautiful women, after all.

Down beneath the peak's edge, two yautja held on to the rocky side as they listened to Dachande speaking to their **bhu'ja jehdins**. Lar'nix'va almost lost his grip and fell to his death because of what he heard. Vk'leita's muscles grew so tense that it began to crush the rock he had his grip on. Both yautja thought the same thing at the same time.

Before? What did Dachande mean by before?!

With a shared look, both yautja began to climb back down the peak.

They couldn't take it anymore.

* * *

Vk'leita was curled up in his bed, pillow clutched between his arms and shaking in rage like he hadn't felt in a long time.

Sex. Vk'leita had no doubt about what Dachande meant when he said 'before'. Dachande had sex with his _bhu'ja jehdin_ when she was still_ ooman_ and they were still on that planet that wiped out his last students.  
He couldn't believe it! His Yeyinda, touched by someone else other than him?! It was-it was. . .

Possible. It was painfully possible.

Vk'leita had heard the hopeful way Dachande had suggested that they have sex again tonight. He had heard and even partially seen how the women got comfortable in his arms like they had done this act over and over in the past. Hell, Vk'leita had even smelled the arousal coming off of Dachande when the women had come to his awaiting arms. Maybe the women hadn't smelled it yet. _Ooman_ senses weren't that sharp, so they probably couldn't recognize the smell with their new scent glands just yet. But He and Lar'nix'va could.

It broke him. Damn it all, it broke him.

He had already had a strong disdain for Dachande before. The elder was only a couple of ranks above him and that gave the male the right to lead over him. Vk'leita had already not liked that fact before. His own brother was a leader and Vk'leita felt almost jealous that he hadn't been able to rise to the exact same ranks as him. If Dachande weren't there, he could have been the sole leader of their clan's hunting parties. He wouldn't have to argue with any higher ranks for his reasoning behind his decisions. He wouldn't have to stand behind anyone when there were meetings between clans. He wouldn't have to answer to anyone!

Now that fact was no longer the worst reason why he despised Dachande.

Now he had a whole new reason to hate him. A reason that pained him deeply and almost matched with the level of betrayal he felt.  
He didn't feel betrayal about what Dachande had done in the past. Maybe angry that Dachande had touched his woman, but not betrayal. _M-di_, the betrayal came from Dachande seeking the body of his mate again even though he now knew she was his intended partner. Dachande knew Yeyinda was his, and yet he blatantly disregarded that tonight.

He hated Dachande with every cell in his body now.

For a brief moment, just a moment, Vk'leita thought about killing him. It'd solve half of his problems right now. He'd be the sole leader and Yeyinda would no longer be enthralled by him. She'd see his strength and choose him over the weaker male. She'd no longer be angry at him and she'd return to his arms where she belonged.

But that thought quickly died out.

He knew Dachande wasn't weak. On top of being ranks above him, he was also the stronger male, though the fact was bitter to him. He wouldn't win in a fight unless he didn't fight fair.  
And Yeyinda. . .she'd see him as a murderer. . .worse than she did already. He'd just hurt her again and he couldn't handle seeing her in pain because of him anymore. He couldn't handle anymore tears and he couldn't handle her hating him even more than she did now.

With this thought, Vk'leita shoved his face into his pillow and roared his heart out.

* * *

In the privacy of one of the ship's dump stations, Lar'nix'va curled up on himself and tried to keep from screaming in agony as his heart ripped itself to shreds in his chest.

He had come to the same conclusions that Vk'leita had. He had trully lost his mate to Dachande. Any hope of earning her forgiveness and maybe courting her into his arms was gone and left him feeling empty and broken inside. He had no chance of getting her back. Not even challenging Dachande would work. The older male was bigger, stronger and more experienced than him, and could kill him in seconds.

It was all so hopeless!

Lar'nix'va decided to hide in the dumpstation for the rest of the night. He needed to be alone and away from all the other unbloodeds as they were no doubt returning soon from their hunting trips. They'd tease him for not having any trophies to show and then they'd harrass him for the sorrow that he was clearly feeling.

He just needed to be alone tonight.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**M-di:** no

-**ooman:** human

-**Sei-i: **yes

-**bhu'ja jehdin:** Spirit Spar (The equivalent of a human soul mate. It means ' the one who will fight life by my side.)

_Here's a chapter for ya'll. Take it ya filthy animals.  
Anyway, thank you all for reading! Comment what you think below and I'll try to respond to all o you the best I can. No spoilers though.  
Thanks, and see ya in the next chapter! Buh Bye!_

_Little Tusk, I hope this answers some of your questions. As for Vk'leita's brother, no, he's honestly trying to help. He just hasn't had his biased towards humans totally lifted yet._


	20. Chapter17 In Which They Dream

Helena looked at her chicken with a raised eyebrow and a tilted head.

Bending over, she picked up her little feather ball and looked under her. One single brown egg lay before her, but that wasn't what was weirding her out. There should be more. A lot more from when she had passed out and transformed into a yautja. On top of that, her food bowl was overflowing with feed. For that she was thankful because she had been a terrible pet parent for the past couple of days after waking up from her coma. She had completely forgotten to take care of her chicken while she was in her bad mood. The water bowl was clean and refilled as well, leaving her with even more questions. None of it added up. She had been awake for several days, so there should at least be several eggs for her to collect. All of this thinking led up to only one conclusion.

Someone's been coming into her room. . .and was apparently taking care of her chicken when she wasn't around.

Cluck pecked at her skin for holding her too long, bringing Helena out of her thoughts. Setting the chicken back down, she grinned as her feather ball squawked in disapproval. Helena was interested to note that her pecking didn't sting as much now as it did with her human skin. In fact, she barely felt it at all.  
Bending back over to clean up her feed bowl a little bit, Helena spotted another bowl settled underneath Cluck's coop. Curious, Helena reached down and picked up the bowl. Her mandibles gapped open wide in shock as she found what was clearly all of the eggs that Cluck had laid while she was in her coma. With a shaking arm, Helena set the bowl aside and sat down on her bed, staring off into space.

Ok, now she ****had**** to know who's been coming into her room. It wasn't Dachande, because he was gone during the time of her coma.

Picking up her wrist gauntlet, Helena remembered that her room and all the other rooms had their own security system. Which meant cameras in every corner for her to see. Punching in the security code, Helena waited as a holographic image popped up. Helena selected the time and day she wanted to view and watched the video play on a sped-up mode. She had selected the days she had been in her coma, since that was more likely to show who it was that was doing this kind act. At first, all she saw were members of the medical team coming in and out of her room. Shocking, since they wanted nothing to do with her even though they shared the same professions. Helena grew even more shocked once she saw who was standing in the corner the entire time the medics were in with her.

Topknot. Topknot was standing guard in the corner of her room while the medics checked her vitals and ran their tests.

Helena stared at Topknot closely and frowned at his appearance. He looked like a wreck, to put it simply. The camera quality was surprisingly high, and allowed her to see his eyes. They were red-rimmed and swollen. His whole demeanor just screamed sorrow, despite his stiff stance.  
As she watched, the medics all eventually left, leaving Topknot alone with herself being knocked out. Helena watched wearily as Topknot drew up a chair and sat beside her. She blinked in surprise and lightly gapped her mouth as Topknot grasped her unmoving hand and pressed the back of it to his mandibles. He gently set her arm back down but didn't let go of her hand as Helena watched him bow his head towards the floor. Then she saw his body shaking uncontrollably.

Was he laughing or crying? She couldn't quite tell.

When he lifted his head back up and leaned back in the chair, Helena frowned as she saw wet tracks of tears falling down the sides of his face and dripping off of his mandibles. So he had been crying, but why?  
Helena watched on for a little while longer and finally saw what she had come to watch the video for in the first place. In the recording, she saw Cluck throw herself against the coop in annoyance. She needed to be let out. Helena watched Topknot turn his head and study the coop wearily before getting up and approaching, finally letting go of her hand. Topknot stood by the coop and opened the latch, letting Cluck fly out and into the room. Helena watched with some amusement as Cluck wobbled over to her limp hand and pecked at it for a moment before going around to scratch at the floor. Looking back at Topknot, she saw him reach inside Cluck's coop and pull out one of her eggs. He studied it curiously for a moment before looking back at Cluck in confusion.

It was almost cute how he was confused by her animal. Almost.

Helena watched him set the egg down wearily before peering inside the coop more. His head came back out a moment later with a bowl in his hand. Topknot looked around her room like he was searching for something before his eyes landed on Cluck's bag of chicken feed. Walking over, he picked up the five-gallon bag and peered at the picture on the front before looking back at Cluck. He connected the dots a few moments later and set the bag back down before reaching in with the bowl and scooping out chicken feed, enough to fill the brim. Helena almost had a heart attack with how much he was giving her, but let it slide as she was sure that this was the first time he had ever even crossed a chicken.

Topknot set the bowl of food inside the coop before turning around and making an expression that amused Helena. When she turned her gaze to Cluck, she found out why he did that.

Cluck had hopped on top of his chair and had pooped in his seat. Helena let out a light chuckle with her mandibles as she watched Topknot chase Cluck off the chair and look at the seat with panic. He ran to her bathroom and came back out moments later with a piece of cloth that the yautja used as towels. Helena watched him attempt to clean the chair, but found himself only smearing the feces further. She giggled as he fumbled over the chair until he eventually got it clean, only to find that Cluck had pooped in her room somewhere else now because he hadn't put her back in the coop. After a while, Helena put in other days and times to see if she could catch Topknot continuing to take care of her chicken. She watched as Topknot eventually learned that Cluck laid her eggs some time in the afternoon and that was the best time to let her out of the coop. She watched as Topknot brought in a bowl to collect all the eggs in and leave them for her to find.

She continued watching him and her heart slowly started to become warm again.

Very slowly.

* * *

Machiko blinked in surprise at the message on her wrist gauntlet that Helena sent her.

'Check your room's security video during the time we were knocked out.'  
Machiko grew curious and typed back to Helena immediately. 'Why?' She asked. Helena's reply was fast, surprisingly.  
'Apparently Topknot was in my room the entire time I was knocked out. He was. . .taking care of me. . .I wanted you to check yours in case someone was doing the same thing.' Alarmed and completely disturbed by this news, Machiko was already pulling up the holographic imager while texting Helena back. 'Give me a minute, I'll check.'

Pulling up the security data, she typed in the first day she was knocked out and watched the video play on a sped up mode.

At first, her room was empty for a long while. The first day, she hadn't been brought to her room. The second day, however, brought its surprise. Machiko watched the video as Shorty, of all people, came into her room. . .carrying her. . .  
Her breath caught in her throat as she immediately noticed how Shorty carried her. It was impossible not to notice! He cradled her against his chest and had her head resting against his neck. He held her so tightly that she was sure that Shorty hadn't wanted to let her go when the medics came in next and motioned for him to put her on her bed.

Shorty laid her legs out on the bed gently, but then climbed in behind her on the bed and held her torso against his to keep her upright while the medics hooked her up to the nearby monitoring machines they brought in. After a long while of the medics making sure everything was in place, they spoke to Shorty for a few moments before leaving her alone with him.

Machiko watched as the moment the others left, Shorty buried his head into the side of her neck and started crying.

Machiko felt her lower mandibles open in a slight gasp of surprise as she kept on watching. Shorty's grip on her tightened as he held on to her desperately like his life depended on it. There was no audio for her to hear, but by the way he was moving, he was sobbing too. Machiko watched as his hands moved and Shorty lifted his head slightly to look over her shoulder. She watched as his hands moved towards her ribs and he tenderly cupped the bruised region. She watched his face as the action seemed to break him again and his heavy crying started once more. This time he didn't bury his face in her neck and so she got to see the tears pouring out of his eyes as his mandibles moved. He seemed to be speaking to someone, but there was nobody there.

Machiko watched as he refused to let go of her, even going so far as to fall asleep with her in his arms.

He didn't lay down on the mattress with her. Rather he kept holding her upright and against him as he slumped backwards against her headrest, cradling her in his sleep. Eventually he woke back up with a start, only to realize he hadn't moved. Seeing himself still holding her, he shifted around and moved to get out from under her. He laid her down gently on the bed before grabbing her blanket and covering her. He tucked her in the best he could with the cords and wires sticking out. Instead of leaving her room though, Shorty laid down on the floor by her bed and made himself comfortable there. No blanket or pillow, he curled up on his side facing her.

Machiko pressed the fast-forward button on the gauntlet and watched the days after that. Shorty was there taking care of her. Even going so far as to help the medics get her fed and cleaned every day. She noticed how his arm shook every time he had to wipe down her bruises with a cloth. He almost seemed afraid to touch her there.  
In real time, Machiko placed her hand over her ribs on the bruises that were still there. They had faded a little by now, but were still obvious and prominent. Did. . .did he actually regret hurting her? He seemed so scared to touch those bruises. Was it regret that he was feeling at what he did? The tears he shed and the way he was acting seemed to say so.

But Machiko wasn't sure. She didn't want to believe that Shorty actually cared about her now. She didn't want to think that any of them did. It'd be too insulting for them to suddenly like her just because she was now one of them. At least, physically one of them.

Sadly, all Machiko felt now was confusion and maybe even a little heart ache.

* * *

Lar'nix'va woke up in his bed, panting hard and sweating profusely.

He looked around his room on the ship and sighed in relief at realizing he was just fine. Then the sudden realization came upon him.  
He didn't have a room on the ship. And he didn't sleep in a bed! He slept on a mat in the pit with the other unbloodeds.  
Did someone find him in the bathroom and take him to a spare room? **M-di**, that didn't sound right. If they thought he was sick, they would have taken him to the healing bay. If they thought he was just asleep, they would have brought him back out to the pit.

So who's room was he in?

Before he could even get up, the door to the strange room opened. Another yautja walked in. A female wearing nothing and strutting in all her glory for him to see. Lar'nix'va nearly choked on his spit at the sight of her. "Da'dtou-di?!" Lar'nix'va exclaimed. Da'dtou-di smirked at him, walking closer and bending down so her breasts could purposefully hang before him. "Good. You're awake." She pulled the blanket off of him and Lar'nix'va found that he was naked as well. Before he could react, Da'dtou-di lifted a leg up and strandled his thighs, leaning over him and puring her delight at seeing him. She pressed her hands to his chest and leaned her head down to stroke his neck with the tips of her mandibles.

Despite the growing erection Lar'nix'va was receiving, he was confused more than anything.

"Da'dtou-di! What is going on? I do not understand. I-" He was interrupted by her lifting her head and tilting it at him in confusion as well. She leaned back and sat on his thighs with her hands in her lap as she stared at him. "Do you not remember? You were exhausted from hunting, so you came in here to take a nap. I told you I'd wake you up once the pups were put to sleep." "P-P-Pups?!" "**Sei-i**. Don't tell me you've forgotten our children just because you took a nap. You weren't that exhausted, were you?" Da'dtou-di reached a tender hand out and felt his forehead as Lar'nix'va's mind turned in circles.  
Pups? He has pups?! When? And how?! He didn't remember ever doing the act with Da'dtou-di, and he was damn sure that he'd remember if they did.

He was taken out of his thoughts by the feel of her hand cupping his chin. Lar'nix'va turned his eyes back towards her.

She frowned at him. "I don't feel a fever on you. Are you sure you're alright?" She asked. Lar'nix'va blinked his eyes and shook his head. "_M-di_, I'm fine. You're right, I was just really exhausted. I'm better now." He promised. "Good." The tender look Da'dtou-di had in her eyes now turned into a heated one that sent Lar'nix'va's blood pumping. It seemed she only had one thing on her mind right now.

And he was beyond ready to comply with her demands.

Da'dtou-di grabbed his shoulders and with her superior strength, flipped the pair of them over so she was beneath him. Her purring drove him crazy and he couldn't help but groan at how tight he was feeling already. He opened his eyes a crack to see Da'dtou-di giving him a needy look. "Make me scream, Shorty."  
'Shorty?'

And then he woke up.

* * *

Machiko strutted down the street in her red, sleek pencil dress. Feeling good about herself, she just left the movies after a blind date with a guy she barely knew. It was pleasant, but no real connection happened. She was more interested in the movie than she had been with him.

Turning the corner to walk down the block, she ran right into a group of guys who instantly surrounded her as soon as they saw her.

Their faces, for some reason, were blurry to her. Their intentions, however, were clear. One of them made a grab for her backside and she slapped the hand away. The offender chuckled. "Feisty one. She'll put up a good fight, unlike the last one." He reached out again and this time Machiko kicked him with her high heel, causing a long and bloody scratch to run up his neck. When the others closed in around her, Machiko leapt over them with strength she didn't know she had, and ran down the nearest alley.  
"Chase her!" Someone shouted.

Machiko kicked off her heels with efficiency and ran faster. The boys were gaining on her and it felt like she was slowing down, despite not feeling tired at all.

**(Warning: The beginnings of a sexual assault scene starts here. Skip past until I've given you the all-clear sign if you don't want to read it. Machiko won't be harmed or assaulted, don't worry. I just know some of you won't want to read scenes that even hint at it.)**

She felt a hand grab the back of her dress and yank her to her feet. Machiko slipped and fell to the floor, falling with a yelp and a gasp of pain as she bruised up her ribs on the fall. Someone grabbed her by her hair and yanked her head back, making her gasp out loud. Rough lips pressed themselves to hers and just as the tip of a tongue came in, she bit down hard, drawing blood. The intruder pulled back with a yell of pain and a hand came down hard against her cheek. Machiko spit out blood on the floor before glaring up at her attackers, who had her pinned down.

The one with the bloody tongue glared down at her savagely before looking at his group. "Rip off her dress!" He snapped.

Machiko's heart slammed into panic mode as she felt their hands grab at the material.

Suddenly, screams of pain and fear rang out from the group and the sound of bodies hitting the floor rang in Machiko's ears as the hands let her go.

**(All-clear. You can start reading from here now.)**

After a couple minutes of silence, Machiko looked up with a shaky head. Her nerves were on end and her flight or fight response was in over-drive. Looking around, she spotted an unfamiliar man standing a little ways off from her. The bodies of her attackers lay at the man's feet, bloody and clearly dead by the amount of it.

The man looked over at her and gasped. "Machiko!" He ran to her side and grasped her hand, helping her up to her feet. Machiko looked up at him with confusion as she stood up. "I'm sorry, but who are you? I mean, thank you for saving me, but. . .I don't know your name. How do you know mine?" She asked, still shaky from her experience. The man tilted his head at her and raised an eyebrow to show his confusion, then slapped his forehead like he remembered something.

"You know me-" He insisted. "-but I guess I should actually look like the person you know before expecting that you do. One second."

Machiko gapped at his confusing words and then took a step back as the man began to transform. Nails turned into black talons, skin turned into patchy scales and hair became thick ropes of dreads. Her eyes widened as his face changed drastically as well to something her mind considered a lot more handsome now.

Now she recognized him. "Shorty?!" "In the flesh." He replied, taking her hand and pressing the back of it to his mandibles.

Machiko wasn't really paying attention to the gesture, only gapping in surprise. He seemed a little older than she remembered, and a smidge taller than his younger version. His muscles were denser and bulkier, giving him a strong look despite his height. Machiko couldn't help but notice how his face seemed to be smirking at her, giving him a look that was making her blush with sudden want for him.

What in the world was going on with her?!

Machiko took a step back and held up her hands at him. "Shorty, I. . .I don't know what's going on here." She explained. "I don't know what's happening to me." "What's happening to you?" Shorty tilted his head at her. "Machiko, what's happening is that you're becoming one of us!" "What?" "Look down at your hands."  
Machiko did as told and found her hands to be full of talons and scaly-skinned like his. She gasped as she held her arms up to look closer. Looking past her arms, she saw the rest of her body. She had grown in height, and her dress no longer fit her. It clung to her every curve, showing off her shape recklessly and even beginning to tear in some places. She saw her legs and found that they were no longer human as well. Gasping in surprise, Machiko stumbled backwards until her back hit the wall behind her. Machiko didn't look up, instead preferring to look at her four-toed feet.

"What's happening to me?!" She yelled.

A hand cupped her chin and tilted her head up. Machiko found her eyes meeting Shorty's, who's eyes were filled with concern for her. "Please don't freak out." He begged. "You're just as beautiful now as you were when you were human." Machiko stared at him in shock at his words, so Shorty leaned his head down and pressed his mandibles against hers softly. Somehow, Machiko's mind knew that he had just kissed her. In the way that his kind could, anyway. The gentle gesture threw her for a loop and she didn't register his hand leave her chin and rest itself on her waist instead. She only noticed when his other hand came up to her side, encasing her in his large hands. For some reason, coming from him, this felt. . .nice.

Shorty finally pulled away from her once he was done kissing and rested his forehead against hers softly. A breath of hot air left his mouth in a sigh as he leaned against her. "You have no idea how much I love you." He whispered, sounding sad.

When Machiko pulled away from him to look at his face, she was shocked to see his eyes filling up with tears. He gave her a pleading look as he held on to her. "I love you, Machiko." He repeated, clinging tighter. "I love you and I don't know how to fix things between us."

The world started to crumble around them. Cracks in the buildings surrounding them and in the pavement appeared on the surface. Sounds of falling buildings reached Machiko's hearing canals. For some reason however, it didn't frighten her.

Instead she rapped her arms around Shorty's neck and held on to him. "You can start by taking us out of here." She stated.

Hope filled Shorty's eyes as he scooped her up into his arms and turned. He ran as fast as possible, the cracks chasing after them. The buildings zipped past them at inhuman speeds and Machiko enjoyed every minute of it. They eventually outran the cracks until Shorty came to a stop.  
Machiko lowered herself out of his arms and looked around.

Sakura trees surrounded them on all sides, with gentle pink petals falling to the ground and creating a layer for them to walk on. Machiko recognized the place from her childhood, but couldn't remember the name of it.  
Machiko turned back to Shorty, only to find him gently grasping her hips and pulling her close to him. "We're safe here." He promised as he leaned his head against her shoulder and took a content sight of relief. Machiko leaned her head against his as well and smiled to herself. She felt safe, there in his arms.

Without even really thinking about it, Machiko reached her hand up and grasped Shorty's chin. She tilted his head up to meet hers and this time, she pressed a kiss to his mandibles. Shorty stared at her with shock as Machiko rested her forehead against his. "There. You fixed it." She softly said. Shorty seemed to stare at her with absolute wonder before he leaned his head up. He kissed her again, this time a little more heatedly, and pulled her close. Machiko gladly complied and allowed him to get handsy with her as she got handsy with him.

Grasping at his cloths, she tore them off hungrily before leaning back to stare at his impressive piece that was erect before her.  
Only for some reason it was blurry too.

What was going on?!  
Just as Machiko was about to reach down and feel the flesh before her, she woke up.

Machiko sat up in her bed, panting hard and trying harder to banish the heat her body was feeling at the moment. Quick flashes of sexual fantasies with the older version of Shorty ran through her mind before she could shake them free. Her mind recalled the dream and Machiko clutched the sides of her head as she took in a sharp breath.  
What was going on with her?!

Whatever it was, it needed to stop.

Flinging the blanket off of herself, Machiko marched to her bathroom to splash cold water on her face. It did little to cool down the aroused heat she was feeling.

Machiko felt like screaming.

* * *

Vk'leita walked into his home, tired and pulling the carcass of an animal over his shoulder. Tonight's dinner.

He dragged the animal to the kitchen where he threw it into the butchering closet. A type of fridge designed to help them preserve and prepare large bodies for consumption. Vk'leita dumped the animal off and then turned to go plop down in the main room for some rest.

Only this time when he got there, he found that he wasn't alone.

A barely pregnant Yeyinda stood before him. Vk'leita stared as the woman gave him a soft smile and walked over to his frozen form. "Welcome home." She whispered before pressing her mandibles to his forehead. Vk'leita stood gasping at her as she giggled and cupped her swollen belly. "What? I didn't grow that much while you were away." She teased, walking over to the couch before sitting down. Vk'leita couldn't help but follow her over, staring at her belly and at her as he came closer.

"Yeyinda." He said. "What are you doing here?!"

Yeyinda looked at him with alarm and confusion. "I'm your wife, you dork. I live here with you." She replied, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. When Vk'leita's expression didn't change, Yeyinda grew alarmed. "Vk'leita, did you hit your head while you were out hunting?!" She stood up and gently grabbed the sides of his head, pulling him close so she could look at his cranium more thoroughly. In the process she had pulled his face closer to her breasts. Now Vk'leita couldn't help but stare at the large mounds of flesh before him, momentarily distracting him from his original thought process. Yeyinda was his wife? When did they seal their mate-ship? And when did he get her pregnant?!

Yeyinda pulled away from him and cocked her head at him curiously. "I don't see or feel any bad bumps. Did you honestly hit your head and I can't feel it?"

In a split second, Vk'leita made his decision. He wanted this. He may not remember how he got it, but he wanted this life with her regardless. Lifting his mandibles in a smile, Vk'leita shook his head. "No, I didn't. Sorry, I meant 'why are you down here?' You should be upstairs resting." Yeyinda rolled her eyes dramatically before nuzzling his head. "If this is about me being pregnant, it's hardly a concern whether I stay up past my bedtime." She joked. "I'm not even that big yet." "But you will be." Vk'leita replied. "And you'll regret not getting the sleep now when you're bigger and can no longer sleep comfortably." He joked. Yeyinda grinned at him and pulled him closer.  
"I can think of one thing I'll regret not doing right now because I won't be able to when I get bigger." she purred.

Vk'leita's first physical response was to get hard, very fast. Then another thought popped up that concerned him.

"Are you sure it's safe to mate when you're pregnant? You're starting to show, and-" He was stopped when Yeyinda grabbed his hips and rubbed her front against his seductively. The needy look in her eyes nearly made him crumble. "Vk'leita!" She whined. "I really need you in me right now. . . Please?" She begged, hormones high.

Now how could he deny this beautiful woman anything she wanted?

Moaning against her, Vk'leita quickly stripped himself down and presented himself before her. His pride went up a couple notches as Yeyinda looked him up and down and stopped her eyes on his prized member. The needy look in her eyes grew and Vk'leita wiggled his hips at her. "It's all for you, Yeyinda." He declared, voice going soft when he said her name. He opened his arms up for her and Yeyinda happily met him in a hug. She pressed her face against his neck and tickled his flesh with the tips of her mandibles. Vk'leita shuddered as she purred against him.

"And I'm all yours." She promised, voice soft and tender.

And then he woke up.

Vk'leita shot up from his bed with a start. His heart was racing and he was supporting a massive hard-on that was making things uncomfortable for him. He flopped back down on the bed once he got his breathing under control.  
He had never yearned for a dream as badly as he did that one just now. That life with Yeyinda, he wanted more than anything. He wanted everything with her, and he was willing to give everything in return. His position, his rank, his home, everything! He'd give it all away if it meant Yeyinda could forgive him and even become his mate.  
These thoughts of her just made him more frustrated. Yeyinda made her choice. She chose. . .Dachande. . .

The yearning for her increased. He needed her, badly. It was driving him crazy and he knew only she could bring him peace again.  
That's when he knew he couldn't give up. He had to keep fighting for her forgiveness and then keep fighting after that for her to accept him as her mate.

He just had to.

* * *

Helena stood on the side of a road that curved along the edge of a mountain. Down below, a rocky shore lead out to the lake that she knew clung to the edge of this mountain.

She knew this road and her heart started pumping with adrenaline when she realized that.

"Oh no." She whispered, turning in the direction she knew the car was going to be coming from. As soon as the little blue bug turned the corner, Helena placed her hands over her mouth and started screaming. "No, no, NO!"

Helena heard the semi-truck coming from behind her and she turned to see it. Her panic set in even higher as she saw the way it was swerving on the road. She ran towards the truck, hoping to stop it. "Stop! Please stop, you'll **KILL THEM**!" She screamed, reaching out just as it was going to crash into her instead.

But the truck passed right through her.

Helena watched as the truck passed through her body and practically made a beeline for the little blue bug. The realization that she couldn't stop the truck came crashing down on her and Helena held her head as she started screaming uncontrollably and cried so forcefully that she couldn't see.

The sound of two vehicles crashing made her scream even louder.

Fresh pain of the memory of losing her child came back to her. Her heart tore into pieces in her chest and the bottomless pit of despair began to swallow her up. She rocked uncontrollably on the gravel and considered throwing herself from the side of the cliff that was right behind her. This scene made it worse. She wasn't there when it happened, but she did have police come to her door to tell her the news. She had been inconsolable then.

It was even worse now.

For several minutes, Helena staid curled up in a fetal position on the road as the sound of her sobbing was the only thing she could hear. She didn't open her eyes to see around her until the sound of a child crying and footsteps approaching alerted her. Lifting her head slightly, Helena shot to her feet once she saw who was standing before her.

Topknot stood tall and somewhat burnt before her. . .carrying her child in his arms.

"My baby!" She gasped, running over to them with fresh tears in her eyes. Topknot held the child out to her and Helena gladly took her son in her arms, cradling the child close and kissing his face over and over again. His eyes were closed and he was passed out, but that was alright. He was alive, and that's what mattered to her.  
Topknot cleared his throat next to her and Helena looked over at him to see that his expression was sad. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him too." He softly said, pointing back towards the wreck. Helena took one peak at the wreck before looking at Topknot and reaching out to him. She pulled him into a hug, nearly crushing her baby between them. She held on to him desperately as he slowly held her back. "It doesn't matter. You saved my son. That's what's important to me." She declared. It may sound heartless, but she truly had no longer loved her Ex husband by this point. She only cared about him enough for their son's sake.

Helena kept holding on to Topknot when she felt a tug on her shirt. "Mommy? Why are you and Daddy crying?"

Helena looked down and gasped at what she saw. Her son was no longer human. He was now a tiny Yautja, like Topknot beside her. Her son peered up at her with innocent eyes, and Helena also noticed that her own arms were no longer human as well. Scaly flesh met her view and Helena clenched her mandibles together and shook her head. She was yautja now, but for some reason it seemed. . .natural to her.

"No reason honey." Helena bent down and pressed her mandibles to her son's forehead. "Come on, let's go home. You, me and. . .daddy." Helena looked up to find Topknot staring down at her.

His expression was mixed between sadness and hope. Helena thought she knew why. Reaching up, she took his hand and squeezed. "Let's go home."  
In the blink of an eye, the scene changed. They were in Helena's living room and her son was squirming in her arms. Helena was still shaky and full of adrenaline from earlier, so she set her son down and nuzzled the flap of flesh connecting his mandibles. "Go ahead and play in your room sweet heart. Mommy and Daddy need to talk." In a flash, her son ran upstairs. She could hear his feet stomping along the ceiling as he ran to his room to play. Topknot cleared his throat beside her and Helena turned her head back towards him.

"So. . .you wanted to tal-" Helena interrupted him by tackling him to the seat of the couch. Topknot gasped in surprise as Helena clung to him and shook uncontrollably in his arms. Topknot slowly wrapped his arms around her to console her. "What's wrong?" He asked. Helena looked up at him and looked at him hard. "Please love me tonight." She begged. Topknot looked at her with confusion as he sat up with her in his lap. "Helena, what do you mean? I already love you-" "No! I mean. . .make love with me tonight." She corrected, blushing. Topknot stared at her, so Helena already started ripping her top off. Topknot's hands came out and stopped her just as she was about to reach for her shorts. "Helena, wait. What about our son?" He asked. Helena shook her head. "He'll be busy playing. I just-. . .I can't-. . .I can't be alone tonight." Her body shook again. "I can't be alone with my thoughts tonight."

A hand on her bottom sent a pleasurable shock through her body as she looked at Topknot, who gave her a lustful look. "You won't have to be." He promised. Topknot began to take off his own clothes and Helena hurriedly finished taking her own off before climbing on top of him.

Just as she was about to come down on him, she woke up.

* * *

The Witch watched with a smirk as all four of her targets woke up from the little wet dreams she sent them.

There! That should pick up the pace a bit. Although she loved heartfelt drama, she loved the juicy, steamy stuff more. They were taking too long to get things on. She didn't like drawing things out for longer than they should be. . .and she kind of had a deadline thanks to a certain pesky God pushing her to do this.

The things she'd do for some people.

With a sigh, the Witch watched as all four targets got up from their beds, flustered and thoroughly horny. They ambled around to get ready for the day and she smirked to herself.

Oh, this was going to be good.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**M-di: **No

-**Sei-i**: yes

_Welp, here's a little horny chapter for you all!  
Before anyone asks, because I know they will, no I don't write lemons. I'll do limes, but no lemons.  
For those that don't know the difference, here:_

_-Lemons: Full on, explicit sex scenes._

_-Limes: scenes full of sexual tension/sexual gestures or hinting that the characters had sex._

_Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The Witch is a devious one, for sure. Let me know what you think in the comments below.  
I'll see you all in the next chapter! Bye!_


	21. Chapter18 In Which They Advance Ranks

Machiko tapped on Dachande's door with the back of her knuckles and waited for his response. At first there was nothing, then the door automatically opened for her. She let herself in, knowing Dachande was probably bent over his desk with 'paper' work and his breakfast.  
Turning the corner, she spotted Dachande doing just as she suspected. Bent over his gauntlet, he was pressing buttons and looking at Holographic messages with a 'plate' of meat right by him. In reality, it was a completely flat wooden platter. They didn't exactly specialize in eating utensils or fancy kitchen platters.

"You called me?" Machiko said as she approached Dachande from behind.

His shoulders that were tensed relaxed at the sound of her voice. He turned in his chair and looked her over. Cocking his head to the side curiously, he rose an eyebrow at her and spoke. "You look flustered." He stated. Machiko's eyes went wide like prey that had been discovered and the sides of her mandibles lit up green in a blush. Now Dachande was really curious. "I didn't sleep that well last night." She muttered, mandibles clicking softly and looking anywhere but at him. Dachande was surprised by her behavior, but even more surprised when her natural scent carried over to him with a slight tang of arousal in it.

She was turned on by something, it seemed.

Shaking his head, Dachande dismissed it and got right to the point. "Well, lack of sleep or not, I called you in here for a reason." He stated, sitting back in his chair. He folded his fingers together and looked her in the eye. "Later tonight, a hunting party and I will be heading out. Consisting of the blooded warriors on this ship, and the oldest unbloodeds as well. I would like you to join me."  
Now Machiko tilted her head at him much the same way he did to her. "I thought you were done teaching students?" She stated. Dachande nodded at this and replied. "I am, but I still have to oversee that their training gets completed. I just don't have to personally be their teacher. The bloodeds will be the ones guiding them tonight. I just have to be there to make sure the bloodeds are following the laws we've set for the hunt. The group will be checking in with me throughout the night."

Machiko nodded in understanding and crossed a leg over the other as she thought about it.

"Well I'd love to join, but what would I be doing? I'm not a trainer for the unblooded." She asked. Dachande sat forward in his chair and gestured to her. "That's the part that I think you'll like. Machiko, I want you to be my second in command tonight." Machiko blinked in surprise and Dachande grinned at her. "I understand it's a big leap in position from the one you've been in for the past two years, but I think you can manage it." Machiko, who had been gapping at him, closed her mouth and answered him. "Wait, what about Topknot? I thought he was your second in command?" She asked. Dachande tilted his head at her once more. "Who's Topknot?" He asked back. Machiko shook her head and made wild gestures at the door. "The idiot who took over your job while you were gone. Helena and I don't know his actual name." "Is that what you call him?" Dachande fought hard to keep from laughing, but the humor was obvious in his voice. Machiko shrugged her shoulders at him. "He never told us it. We had to call him something." She explained. Dachande chuckled. "Vk'leita. That's his actual name." He said.

Machiko nodded her head to show that she heard, but in reality she was already forgetting how to pronounce it. She had other things on her mind.

"Anyway, isn't he your second in command?" She asked. Dachande frowned and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "He is, but he's taking a break right now. Some. . .personal issues have come up. He doesn't feel like he is competent to lead right now." He explained. Machiko frowned, but didn't bother to ask what those issues were. He could deal with them on his own, just like he let Helena and herself do for the past two years.

Machiko cleared her throat. "Dachande, I accept the offer. But what about Helena? Will she be joining us?"

Dachande shook his head and gave a softer smile towards Machiko. "Although I would love to have her hunt with us, I know Helena has been wanting to do something else for a long time. She was a healer back on your planet. She wants to be a healer here. I am going to be having her train with our healers on board this ship. Then when we get back to our home planet, I am going to be sending her to those healers to learn even more from them. She loves to hunt, but I can see it in her that she likes to mend the broken more."

Machiko smiled at this news and got up to hug Dachande, much to his surprise.

"She's going to love it."

* * *

Helena nearly skipped away from Dachande's room, she was that happy.

Dachande had called her in there early to talk to her. She had met Machiko as the woman was heading out of Dachande's office. Machiko had given her a secretive smile on the way out and Helena had wondered why when Dachande revealed the answer.

She was going to be a doctor again!

Picking up her speed, Helena almost felt like she was running down the hall. She was so much faster than when she was human. Stronger as well. She hadn't fully tested out her strength or speed yet, but remembering when she had broken her dresser to pieces gave her an indication that it was a lot more. Her human self wouldn't have been able to do that.

Lost in her happy thoughts, Helena collided with another yautja as she turned the corner leading into the hallway that housed the medic wing.

The other yautja fell to the floor while Helena stayed standing. Her larger frame was hard to topple, and everyone on the ship was now affectively shorter than her. The poor victim fell on their bottom with a hard thump and Helena was sure that they were going to have some bruising there for a while. Opening her mouth, she was about to say sorry until she saw who it was.

Topknot stared up at her from the floor, eyes wide in surprise and mouth open from the shock.

Helena's own mouth was open, but she quickly closed it. "Sorry." She mumbled and quickly tried to walk past him, not offering a hand up. Her dream from the night before came back to her mind and it made her think of straddling him while he was down on the floor. She wanted to smack herself from thinking that. Topknot had hurt her. Any thoughts of wanting him were completely wrong! She wasn't a masochist and she didn't know why she had that dream, but she needed to never think about it again.

Even if he did take care of her and her chicken while she was knocked out. . .

Not bothering to look behind her, Machiko marched into the medic wing, determined to kick Topknot out of her mind.  
Her determination worked, if only for the fact that the head doctor was glaring at her as soon as she entered the room. He stalked over to her and stood right before her, still glaring and trying to look intimidating. The effect was lost since he had to strain his neck to look up at her. "Dachande sent me." Helena clicked at the doctor, not having to guess why he hated her. "I know." He clicked back with irritation. The doctors here had denied Machiko and herself any medical treatment for the past two years they had been there. It was no secret that they hated the girls because they were human.

Apparently being yautja now didn't change their views on them either.

Helena glared at him back. "Well? Is there a problem then?" She asked, a tone of sarcasm and anger in her voice. She was done being bullied by these jerks, even if she had to bully them back just to get the point across. She was now bigger and stronger than them, and she fully intended to use that to her advantage if she had to.  
The doctor's glare sharpened even more at her. "Yes, there is a problem." He stated boldly. "The problem is that you think you're one of us now. The problem is that Dachande is expecting me to train an incompetent **ooman** in one of the most difficult areas of study. The problem is that Dachande somehow believes a _ooman_ can comprehend and understand our anatomy and technology well enough to become a healer to our kind. **That** is the problem!" He huffed out a breath after getting his rant out and didn't expect the cruel, almost evil laugh that escaped the woman's mouth.

Helena tilted her head back and let out a mimicry of a human's evil laughter since she no longer naturally did it on her own. Looking back down at the doctor, she smiled victoriously at him. He gave her a disturbed look and this time Helena advanced on him.

"Oh trust me. I know I'll never be one of you." She declared as she took a step towards him.

The doctor unwillingly took a step back and Helena's grin grew wider. "I would never want to be one of you. I may be physically one of you, but your ways of thinking, your culture and your obvious distain for anyone but yourselves put you at the bottom of the barrel for me." Her voice grew darker. "Your so closed minded that I've lost all respect for you. You and your kind." She had backed the doctor up against a wall and just to startle him, Helena shot her fist forward and punched the wall right by his head, causing a deep dent in the metal. The doctor jumped, so Helena leaned her head closer to him.

"But just this once, you **will** listen to **me**. I had your position amongst my kind when I was still human. I did everything you did, just on a different species. So if you think I can't handle learning about you, and even do my damn best to heal you, you're dead wrong. Our species may be different from the head up, but from the neck down, we're practically the same. You won't be that hard to learn about. Your technology for this stuff will make it even easier. So do your damn job and train me, 'cause I'm not going to back down just because you're too closed minded to even consider it possible."

Helena finished her rant and glared down at the doctor who stared up at her, unaffected, when the door behind them opened.

Both looked back to see who it was and found Topknot staring at them. His expression turned angry, but to Helena's surprise, it was aimed at the doctor. "What is the problem?" He asked, tone a little sharp. The healer stepped away from Helena's leaning form and pretended to be unaffected by her threat. "There is nothing wrong. My **apprentice** here was just making her demands for what she wants clear. If you go to the room, I'll be in with you soon."

Ignoring the doctor's subtle request, Vk'leita looked past him and stared at Yeyinda as she stood tall before him. His eyes grew a little softer as he looked at her. "Apprentice?" He asked quietly.

Yeyinda stiffly nodded at him and the healer spoke up. "Yes, Dachande requested that she be trained under me. In fact, she'll be joining us for her first inspection session with you." He declared. Helena gave the doctor a shocked and slightly horrified expression. Out of the corner of her eye, Topnot was doing the same as well. "What?!" They both said in unison. The doctor didn't back down. He turned to Topknot and pointed at the room that he was supposed to go in. "Dachande's orders. She'll be doing your inspection under my watch today. Don't worry, I won't let her cause you any harm. Now hurry while the room is prepped."

Though his eyes had a million conflicting emotions in them, Topknot silently went into the room the doctor pointed to. Helena immediately rounded on him.

"What was that?!" She demanded. The doctor turned and gave her a cool look. "You wanted to learn, well you'll be learning on the spot. If you can handle one patient today, I'll train you with **m-di** more complaints from me. Do we have a deal?" He asked, eyes giving away none of his true emotions on the matter.  
Helena eyed him suspiciously before nodding her head and standing up straight. "Deal." She declared.

"Good. Now get in the room. He needs his inspection."

Helena didn't want to ask, but she knew she had to. "When you say 'inspection', do you mean we're just checking that he's healthy?" She waited for his mockery to continue, but surprisingly, he answered calmly. "Yes. We'll be checking his vitals. I thought you said you knew this stuff." He folded his arms and looked at her accusingly. Helena rolled her eyes before answering him back. "I do, it's just called something different amongst my kind. The terminology you use is probably going to be the most difficult thing I'll have to learn here." She explained.

The doctor reluctantly nodded his head in understanding, finding this conversation more interesting than he wanted to admit. "If the terminology is different, then what am I called amongst you _oomans_?" He asked. Helena tilted her head and replied. "Doctors." She said, though her mouth had a harder time forming the word than when she used to. The doctor pointed to himself and clicked his mandibles at her. "Healers." He simply said.

Helena nodded and turned towards the room. "We better not keep him waiting." She said, though this was the last thing she wanted to do.

The healer nodded and walked with Yeyinda into Vk'leita's inspection room.

* * *

Vk'leita was internally panicking when he entered the room and sat down on the waiting table.

Yeyinda was going to be inspecting him! Yeyinda, of all people! The thought made him both giddy and nervous. Almost childishly, he secretly hoped that she approved of what she was going to see. That his body met her subconcious demands for physical appeal. The dream that he had the night before wasn't helping. In fact, it was causing him fantasies of her that were going to make this inspection impossible if he didn't get his thoughts under control!

He almost didn't hear the door open when Yeyinda walked in alongside the healer.

"You haven't stripped down yet?" The healer asked as he closed the door. Vk'leita stood up from the table. "Right." He said awkwardly. Here was the part he was dreading. His eyes were trained on Yeyinda as she went over to the wash station to clean her hands while he undressed with her back turned. First he undid his dreads from his knot. Then, reaching behind his back, he undid the strings holding his loin cloth in place with shaking hands.

The cloth fell just as Yeyinda turned back around.

Vk'leita watched her eyes for any reaction she would have to the sight of him. When her eyes landed on his prize, however, all he saw was cold concentration in them. No surprise, no lust, nothing.  
Stung from disappointment, Vk'leita tore his eyes away from her and trained them on the healer, who was giving him a strange look.

Meanwhile, Helena was trying hard not to show anything but cool professionalism. She has seen plenty of penises before, but for some reason Topknot's gave her a pause. It wasn't like his was the first yautjan one she has seen. Dachande had a bad habit of walking around the house butt-naked back when they still lived on Ryushi.  
But Topknot's. . .gahh, she hated herself for it!

The healer spoke up, breaking both of their trains of thoughts.

The healer turned to Vk'leita while pulling up his gauntlet and pressing some buttons. Vk'leita's medical records came up. "It seems you're due for your intense inspection." He casually stated as he scrolled through the texts on the holograph. Now the fear was really showing in Vk'leita's eyes as Yeyinda turned back to the healer. "Intense inspection?" She asked. The healer nodded and calmly explained, not daring to get impatient with her in front of Vk'leita. The last thing he needed was word to reach Dachande of his treatment of her.  
"There's two types of inspections. A Screening or intense. A screening inspection is only for when they go on hunts to other planets. Its to check that they didn't bring back any parasites or bacteria that are considered dangerous to us. An intense inspection, however, is intended to check their body's health."

Helena had a feeling she knew why they called it intense. So she didn't bother asking what the difference between the two would be.

The healer put his gauntlet away and looked at Vk'leita. "I'll be directing her while she inspects you. Try to be cooperative." There was a warning tone in his voice. Vk'leita scowled at him. Normally, the healers wouldn't have dared talk to him like this. Vk'leita, however, had officially put himself on a break from his second in command position. Which meant he was now in equal ranks with the healers.

Which meant they could talk to him however they wanted.

The healer looked at Yeyinda and pointed at Vk'leita while keeping eye contact with her. "First thing. Check his dreads for any discoloration. His natural coloring is a black and brown mix. We shouldn't see any other colors than that."

Helena nodded and turned towards Topknot, motioning for him to turn around so she could get the back of his head.

Vk'leita complied, though his body tensed, waiting for the feel of her hands on his dreads at any moment.  
When he did feel her talons penetrate his masses, it was surprisingly gentle. He felt both her hands gather his dreads up and hold them high above his head. One hand let go of the clump and Vk'leita felt his dreads slowly fall back down against his neck, but not before each one was fondled by her free hand. Vk'leita almost shuddered at her touch. A yautja's dreads served two purposes. Heat sensing and arousal.  
Yautjas could sense heat signatures coming from behind. That's why it's so hard to sneak up on them. Amongst their own kind, however, it served a different purpose. Male yautja's dreads had this chemical reaction to when a female's hand touched them. Something to do with their estrogen/testosterone levels combining with the heat sensing. It caused the same reaction to occur in the males as it does in the females when their nipple has been stimulated. Hence why females of Vk'leita's race liked males with longer dreads.

Yeyinda didn't know that though, and it was obvious to Vk'leita as her hands skimmed through the full length of all of his dreads.

Vk'leita looked out of the corner of his eye and glared at the healer as the fellow male had to clamp his mandibles shut tight to keep from laughing at him. Female healers would normally wear these pads on their fingers to keep the stimulation from happening.  
The head healer knew damn well what this was going to do to Vk'leita and purposefully avoided telling Yeyinda about the pads.

He didn't know if the healer was punishing him or Yeyinda by doing this.

"The color looks normal in all of them." Yeyinda suddenly declared as she dropped the last of his dreads down. Vk'leita threw a leg up in a bent position in a quick attempt to hide his growing erection. Yeyinda didn't seem to notice. "Good. Now if you don't mind, there's a couple tools I need you to bring from the room beside us. They'll be labeled, so don't worry about not recognizing them." The healer gave Yeyinda a list of the tools he needed and sent her out. As soon as she was gone, Vk'leita rounded on the healer.

"What the **pauk** was that about?!" He snapped angrily.

The healer regarded him with a cool look before replying. "Several things. A test, mostly." He answered. Vk'leita huffed. "A test for who? Her or I?" "Both." The healer replied. "She declared that she's done this before, so I want to see if she actually has. Although she did the inspection on your dreads right, she certainly didn't use the right tools." The healer said in an almost mocking tone. Vk'leita stared at him. "Done this before. . .she was a healer?" "Apparently so." The head healer reluctantly admitted. "Amongst her own kind. She's convinced she can learn about us easily." He didn't sound convinced that she could. To Vk'leita though, things started to make more sense. Like how she and Da'dtou-di always seemed patched up despite knowing that the medics and healers here weren't treating them.

Vk'leita shook his head to clear his thoughts. "What else are you 'testing'?" He demanded in a mocking voice.

The healer stared him down. "The Witch." He said bluntly. "I want to see just how much of a yautja she turned the _oomans_ into. If the physical reactions would be the same. This confirmed it." The healer frowned. "Which makes me worried." "Why?" Vk'leita demanded. The healer regarded him calmly. "If the physical reactions are the same, then everyone on board this vessel is going to have a hard time when mating season comes around." Vk'leita stared at him as he realized what this implied.  
Males on their own would be fine during the mating season. It was the females who initiated it. Their bodies released a pheromone that would put the nearby males into an aroused frenzy. It signaled the time when the females were most fertile, even if yautjas mated during any other part of the year.

And the season was going to start soon.

The healer's tone took on a warning note to it. "We've got four months before the season starts. We're not due to go back to our planet for another eight. We have to bring this matter up with Dachande so we can prepare for it."  
Vk'leita's mind was on other matters at the moment. "You can't let her inspect me." He stated, staring at the floor. "What?" The healer asked. Vk'leita turned his eyes back towards him. "You can't let Yeyinda inspect me! The Witch turned her into a yautja for a reason!" The healer scuffed. "And what would that reason be other than to humiliate us?" He demanded. Vk'leita stood up to his full height and towered over the healer. "Because she's my **bhu'ja jehdin**!" He snapped.

Now the healer stared at him with wide, shocked eyes as his mandibles split apart. "Oh. . ." He said awkwardly. "That. . .makes a lot more sense now." He reluctantly admitted.

"**Sei-i.**" Vk'leita nodded. "You have to send her out." He insisted. The healer knew he should, but he had a different idea. _Bu'ja jehdins_ were special, no matter his personal views on the women. This had to happen.  
"I'm sorry." He said. "But it's Dachande's orders that she inspect you." He partially lied. "I can't disobey him." Vk'leita's face fell just as Yeyinda returned to the room with her arms full. "Did I miss something?" She asked as she eyed the two suspiciously.

"You missed nothing." The healer insisted, taking some of the tools from her. "We've just been going over some of the symptoms he's been feeling lately."

Yeyinda set the rest of the tools down on a counter and then turned back to the doctor. "Ok, then what's left on the list?" She asked. The healer gestured to Vk'leita and listed off the things they needed to inspect. "All of his exterior body needs to be checked for discoloration or bumps. Then an internal inspection of his mouth and anal cavity as well as a rectum search-" The list went on and on.

Vk'leita knew he was going to die today.

* * *

Machiko stood by Dachande's side as the rest of the hunters took up positions behind them.

It was immediately noticed how she had a spot at the front and not at the very back like she used to. Machiko could feel their judgmental eyes on her back as she mentally flipped them all off.

Man, payback was the best feeling!

Dachande turned to the rest of the hunters and called them all out. "You will be following your blooded leader into different areas of the planet. Listen to them, and you may live to tell your story today. Fail to do so, and the consequences will be as severe as if it had been me giving you your directions. Find your hunting party. Dismissed!"  
The group immediately began to reorganize themselves into smaller groups. Machiko stayed by Dachande's side, as well as several other blooded hunters. They were all going on a separate hunting trip together while the oldest unbloodeds were taken somewhere else.

Once the unbloodeds and their leaders were gone, Dachande turned back towards his group. "This is the order we will be in. Da'dtou-di, at the front with me." He ignored the shocked faces from the rest of the hunters there. He hadn't told them that he had put Machiko as his second in command today. He could feel their anger rolling off of him, but dismissed it. "Next is-" and he began to call out names. Reluctantly, they all got into their positions behind Machiko as Dachande took his spot in front of her. They wouldn't dare disobey his orders. Openly, anyway.

"Let's go!" Dachande barked and began to move. The others ran behind him, keeping up pace.

For a while, all they did was run. Then Dachande called them all to a stop in a small clearing. He started to inspect the ground as he caught a trail of some animal. The tracks were small, but they suddenly cut off in front of him. Machiko came over to inspect as well. "It's too small to hunt." Dachande almost dismissed. Machiko pointed at the tracks and replied. "Maybe the small tracks are, but whatever got it sure isn't." At the end of the tracks, Machiko spotted large talon marks scraping the sides of the smaller tracks. Machiko tilted her head. "What kinds of birds live on this planet?" She asked.

"The largest ones you'll ever see." Dachande promised. Machiko looked at him and he pointed to himself. "The birds here are larger than five of me. What we're seeing here are small in comparison. A fledgling, perhaps making their first kill." Dachande theorized. Machiko tilted her head towards him. "If it's a fledgling, then the nest should be nearby. And its parents as well." She hinted. Dachande grinned at her and turned towards the rest of the group that was slowly surrounding them. "Look for signs of a nest. We may have a large one here."

The group dispersed and Dachande addressed Machiko again. "I may need you to be the one to subdue it." He stated. Machiko tilted her head at him and so he explained. "Females are naturally stronger than males. Because of that, you are the strongest one here. Stronger than me, even." A small part of Dachande had a hard time admitting that. "When the largest bird comes to attack us, that one will be yours to kill. We'll deal with the rest of the flock."

Machiko smiled at him. "You would save the biggest one for me?" She teased.

Dachande smiled back. "Well, it would either go to you or me. Might as well be you since I've got plenty of other trophies." Machiko couldn't help the chuckle leaving her throat as she got up and joined the search for the nest with the others.

A little ways off, a very short yautja male hid in the bushes and watched Da'dtou-di as she left. He slowly began to follow her from a distance as she climbed the trees. He was determined to keep her in his sights.

He wouldn't rest until he knew she was safely back on the ship once this hunt was over.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**ooman: **human

-**m-di: **no

-**pauk: **Fu**

-**bhu'ja jehdin:** Spirit Spar (The equivalent of a soul mate. It means 'the one who will fight life by my side'.)

-**Sei-i: **yes

_Mwahahaha! I wonder how many of you thought yautjas didn't need a checkup? Well I declare that they do! That prostate exam isn't going to do itself._

_Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Tell me what you thought about it in the comments below. I'll try to reply to as many as I can.  
See ya!_


	22. Chapter19 In Which They Talk

Vk'leita left the healer's hall burning up and hive-mind mad.

The head healer had let Yeyinda do his ****entire**** inspection. All of it! Hadn't told her she was doing anything wrong or that she wasn't using the right tools. He just told her what she needed to do and she did it how she thought it was done.

Vk'leita slammed the door to his room and felt the heat in his face continue to burn.

The head healer hadn't told Yeyinda about the thin finger pads that were worn by the women healers when dealing with men. He hadn't told her about the various tools that she could have used instead of her hands to avoid some of the more uncomfortable parts of the inspection. He didn't even show her where the tools where so she could make an educated guess on how to use them!

And her hands. . .uuuugh!

They had been _everywhere_ on him! Starting from his head down, she had inspected every part of him. Her hands had been on his dreads, his mandibles, his back and abs, his legs, until she circled back around to get his most private parts at last. Her hands had been ****in**** him! When he flipped over onto his front as per the head healer's instructions, she had waisted no time in inspecting his bottom and Vk'leita had to fight not to moan as soon as he felt her claw-tipped fingers enter in him. He had almost hoped that she had been secretly fondling him, but he knew her better. She was quick with the whole thing and just wanted to get it done and over with.

His biggest nightmare though, had been when she inspected his rod.

Yautja had superior hearing to most beings, and he was pretty sure that she had been able to hear his heart beat out of his chest when he had to flip back over and reveal the fully developed erection he had been trying to hide the entire time. After she had washed her hands, she had turned back around and eyed his piece with a no-nonsense look. His entire body had tensed up as she approached and his hands formed fists so tight they drew blood. It was the only thing he could do to keep from having a sudden violent reaction from his rod as soon as her hands had cupped it.

****Paya****, he was such a pathetic mess!

Leaning his head against the door, he tried to calm down from all the pent up hormones that were screaming at him from deep inside. He had wanted it to stop and yet he had secretly hoped it would never end. He wanted it to last for eternity and at the same time he wanted to hide as soon as he saw her hands reach for him.

Vk'leita took a moment to control his breathing before he came to a conclusion. He needed to take a bath. A cold one just to calm him down and quench the burning sensation in him.

Vk'leita opened his door back up and headed out after grabbing a drying cloth. Nearly everyone was out for the hunt right now. The public bath hole would be vacant at the moment. He had his own private bath hole, but it was small and cramped. He really, really couldn't handle being cramped in a small space right now.

Hurrying down the halls, he reached the room that held the bath hole and entered in.

A large room meant to hold everyone that could possibly be on the ship, in the center was a large basin that nearly took up the entire floor except for the edges of the room. It was a bath hole for every yautja on board who wanted to socialize while getting clean. Water was constantly being filtered in and out, keeping the water constantly clean no matter how dirty the yautja might be.

Folding his drying cloth neatly to the side, Vk'leita stripped down and stepped into the water before wading over and fidgeting with the heating controls. He turned the heat down until it was sufficiently cold. Then he turned on some of the bath's other features. Steam rose around the edges of the room, obscuring his view and keeping him hidden. Vk'leita could hear the filters already sucking in and pushing out the water.

With a satisfied sigh, Vk'leita waded back over to the edge of the bath hole and just floated there for a moment with his head leaned on the hole's rim.

He couldn't stay in this water for long. Yautja bodies did not handle the cold very well. Even mildly cold temperatures would be dangerous after long periods of time. He'd have to turn the water up to warm if he wanted to stay in there longer.

For now, Vk'leita just wanted to relax.

He was alone for a good long while. Vk'leita had even been close to drifting off into sleep, but then he heard the sound of a door opening nearby.  
He paid it no mind. The steam was thick enough that it concealed him and the door had been on the far end of the other room. A splashing sound later and the water was suddenly getting warm as the newcomer adjusted the settings. Good, he wouldn't have to worry about moving from his peaceful spot and turning the heat up himself.

"Eeeeck!" Came the sudden screech of a very familiar and a dreadfully feminine voice.

Vk'leita's eyes shot wide open. "Yeyind-ah!" His head slipped from the rim and he was plunged under the water for a moment before righting himself back up and spitting out the mouthful of water that he had almost swallowed. He looked at her with alarm as she stared up at him from where she had submerged herself under the water up to her neck. Vk'leita could see the wavy outline of her arms under the water trying hard to hide her large breasts and her crotch area. He stuttered as he tried to speak to her. "W-w-what are you doing here?!" He hadn't meant for it to sound accusatory, but it did, and Yeyinda no longer looked embarrassed after he said it.

Glaring at him, Yeyinda suddenly rose to her full height, exposing her glorious top to him, before abruptly turning away from him. "What?! Am I not allowed to be here too?" She snapped before beginning to stomp away, sloshing the water around her.

Vk'leita realized his mistake and hurriedly stood to go after her. "Wait! Yeyinda, that's not what I meant!"

He reached her side and his hand shot out, grasping her hip in a gentle hold. Helena paused and looked down at the hand holding her hip before looking over her shoulder at Topknot with an annoyed glare. She saw Topknot frown at her before speaking. "That's not what I meant." He repeated. "I just. . .I've never seen you down here before."

Yeyinda's reply was sharp and quick. "Why in the world would Da'dtou-di or I come down here when any of you were here? We've always waited for everyone to leave before taking our own damn bath for the past two years!"

Helena ignored the very visible flinch that Topknot did when she said those words and faced back around to go. His hand didn't leave her hip. Instead, she felt him squeeze the flesh there, almost desperately. "Please." He softly clicked. "Don't go. I can stay on the other end of the bath hole if you want, but. . .you have just as much right to be here as I do." He quietly explained.

His soft tone calmed her anger a little bit and Helena couldn't help but look at him again over her shoulder. "Bath hole?" She softly asked, an annoyingly curious tone in her voice.

Vk'leita cocked his head at her and nodded. "Yes. All of this." He gestured to the room. At Yeyinda's still confused look, Vk'leita ventured a guess. "Is this not what it's called amongst the **oomans**?" He asked. Yeyinda shook her head, turning a little more towards him to give him more attention. "It's called-" Helena paused as she realized her culture didn't really have one of these things. "Well, it would normally be called a pool. But I guess this is closer to a bath house." She calmly explained. Topknot gave her a confused look before speaking. "But we are not in a house." He pointed out. Yeyinda let out a chuckle, the sound almost sending shivers down Vk'leita's spine. She shook her head at him. "You'd have to ask Da'dtou-di to explain it. She has bath houses in her culture where mine only has pools."

Vk'leita wanted to ask more, but decided they needed to talk about something else.

"Yeyinda." He said her name in a tone barely above a whisper. "Can we talk? . . .About earlier. . ." Yeyinda gave him an unreadable expression for a long moment and Vk'leita worried that she would finally leave in order to avoid speaking to him. Then she sighed, tilting her head towards the ground, before submerging her body beneath the water again until only her head was exposed. "What about it?" She reluctantly asked.

Vk'leita lowered himself as well to be on her level and swam a little closer.

"Are. . .are you alright?" He asked. "With what you had to do to me, I mean." _Paya_, he sounded like a stupid, awkward pup! Instead of getting flustered like he almost thought she would, Yeyinda just sighed and shook her head. "Topknot, I'm fine. I've done a check-up before. It's that stupid healer I'm mad at." She calmly explained. Vk'leita blinked his eyes and tilted his head at her. "You. . .were a healer before?" He asked. Yeyinda nodded and motioned with her head in a random direction. "I used to be a healer back when I was still human, but that was only for my kind. You saw me there today because Dachande decided that I should learn to be a healer again, only this time so I can learn to heal you guys." Vk'leita frowned at this and subconsciously padded closer to her.

"Did you. . .not want to be a healer to us?" He softly asked, afraid of the answer.

Instead of a **Md-i** like he expected, Yeyinda shook her head. "**Sei-i**, I wanted to be a healer. Ever since Dachande was found by my kind back on planet Ryushi, I wanted to learn how to heal him. It's. . .almost an instinct for me. . .to want to heal others, I mean." She explained. "So Dachande told me that I'd be trained under the healers here. Only the **pauker** that he put me under is an egotistical twat!" She spat. Vk'leita blinked, mostly because he didn't know what a 'twat' was, but the description about the healer sounded about right anyway. It was even relieving that she wasn't mad at him, for once.

Vk'leita got even closer. "What did he do?" He asked, genuinely getting mad once more at the healer for whatever slight he did to Yeyinda.

Yeyinda looked at him and the rage died in her eyes before she let out a sigh and looked down at the water dejectedly. "What everyone else here has done. Believed I was worthless and hopeless because I was human."

If it weren't for the tone in her voice, her words alone made Vk'leita's heart burn and ache in shame. She was talking about what he had done too. Vk'lieta turned his eyes towards the water as he now had a hard time looking at her. He was no better than the healer. Even now.

A soft sigh from Yeyinda made him return his gaze to her and he saw her shake her head, the fire returning to her eyes. "But I proved him wrong!" She snapped triumphantly. "Now the twat has to legitimately train me since I did your check-up correctly." Vk'leita frowned as he thought back to what happened earlier. "Yeyinda. . .the healer. . .might have been holding back some information from you about the inspection-" "I know." She interjected. Vk'leita looked at her incredulously as she continued. "I know there were maybe tools and equipment he didn't tell me about that could have helped. But I wasn't going to let that stop me." Vk'leita closed his gapping mandibles before shaking his head. "How did you know?" He asked. Yeyinda let out a chuckle that made his heart flutter in his chest. "Dachande once bragged about how superior your medical equipment was compared to mine. I was expecting to use it on you, but apparently the healer wasn't going to show me how." She shook her head and let out a growl under her breath. "I just wish I had some gloves, at least. Though they'd probably rip with the claws-" "Gloves?" Vk'leita interrupted her rant.

Yeyinda turned her head and nodded at him. "It's these plastic things that go over a healer's hands back on my planet. It's supposed to be a protective layer between the patient and the healer, incase one of them is carrying something infectious. It would have been especially good here when I had to do your. . .well, when I had to inspect your prostate." This time, the sides of her mandibles really did glow with a blush and she looked anywhere but at him. Even under the water, Vk'leita felt his bottom burn at the memory of her touch on his rear. _Paya_, he wanted her to do it again!

Vk'leita tried hard not to fidget under the water. "I think we have something similar to what you describe." He said.

At Yeyinda's look, Vk'leita went on to explain. "You were supposed to wear these finger pads while you did my inspection. They're thin, so you still would have been able to feel my. . .prostate. . .and everything else." While Vk'leita turned green from the blood rushing to his face, Yeyinda went deathly silent. "I'm going to kill that healer the next time I see him." She broke her silence.

Vk'leita frowned and shook his head. "Then who would teach you?" He replied, almost joking. Yeyinda gave her head a vicious shake. "Someone competent enough that they won't let their stupid bias cause me to bring discomfort to my patients!" She snapped. Vk'leita rose an eyebrow at her. "Who says I was uncomfortable?" He challenged, though it was completely true that he was.

Helena just shook her head at him. "I could tell that you were." She pointed out. "Maybe not in a painful discomfort, but you were trying to hide your erection from me the entire time." At the look of horror, Helena smirked with one mandible lifted. "I told you, I've done this before. Hate to tell you this, but your bodies aren't so different from a human's. The males of my species have the same problem when they come to the healers. Erections are common to see in the office. It's nothing to be ashamed about." Topknot's mandibles turned a little green, but he ended up frowning at her. "So. . .seeing my rod didn't make you. . .uncomfortable or disgusted with me?" He asked. Helena shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with what you were feeling." She confirmed. "Our bodies tend to react to physical touch whether we want them to or not."

At Topknot's relieved look, Helena added in. "Though I don't know why you were freaking out when I was touching your dreads. Unless you were sensitive to it and didn't tell me."

Helena wanted to laugh at the almost horrified look on Topknot's face as he stared at her. "The. . .the healer didn't tell you what happened after I left?!" He exclaimed. Helena shook her head and Topknot groaned. "Yeyinda, our dreads. . .they're. . .they're used for mating." He tried to click out. Helena tilted her head at him in confusion. "I'm not quite sure how." She replied. "I don't feel any sensations when I run my fingers through them." She pointed out. Topknot stabbed his lower mandibles into the sides of his upper ones. The equivalent of a human biting their lip in nervousness. He stood a little higher in the water and reached out to her. "Because your own hands don't cause this to happen to yourself."

He gently grabbed one of her dreads and slid his fingers down the length of it.

Helena let out an involuntary mix between a yelp and a squeak at the sudden sensation that ran through her body. An electric current that immediately got her hormones going and caused her body to heat up. She flung an arm around her chest to hide the evidence of her nipples instantly hardening and she clamped her legs shut in an attempt to quell the heat that had suddenly shot up there. She looked at Topknot to see him giving her a frown.

Vk'leita had almost wanted to run his fingers down another one of her dreads.

The moment was instant, but he saw how she had squirmed from the sudden sensation and the sound she made was still ringing in his hearing canals. The desire to immediately mate with her had returned and a small, very dark part of him wondered if he could get her into a frenzied mood by just running his hands through her lovely locks of dreads. Just enough to get her to abandon her anger with him and get her to ravish him on the spot. The smell of her arousal hit him and he knew it would be possible if he continued. _Paya_, he wanted her that badly.

But a bigger part of him knew she'd never forgive him if he did the motion again. Especially if he continued to do it just to satisfy himself.

Vk'leita dropped his hands to his sides and achingly frowned at her as they both tried to calm themselves down. "I'm sorry." He clicked. "I didn't know how else to show you. . .but I hope it makes sense now. Your own hands wouldn't be able to. . .cause that to happen to yourself. It would have to be a male's. It's a . . .physical reaction amongst our kind." Yeyinda had finally calmed down a little and had reached a hand up to hold her dreads back subconsciously. "That was- Oh _md-i_! Topknot, is that what happened to you back when I was looking through your dreads?!" She fearfully asked. Vk'leita simply nodded at her and Yeyinda threw her hands in front of her face. "I am so sorry!" She exclaimed. Then her expression turned angry. "I'll be right back!" She declared, turning to go. Vk'leita gave her a bewildered look before trying to go after her. "Wait, Yeyinda! Where are you going?" He quickly asked. Yeyinda was beginning to climb out of the bath hole when she replied. "To beat that healer to a pulp!"

Just as Vk'leita was about to reply, the alarms went off.

His heart froze in his chest as the dreadfully familiar sound rang out around them. Yeyinda looked at him with wide eyes, as this was her first time hearing the noise in the two years she'd been here. "What's that alarm for?!" She exclaimed. Vk'leita jumped out of the water and helped her out of the water as well. He tossed her clothes to her and then ran to get his from the other side of the room. "It's a breach!" He shouted, throwing his loincloth on and running back to her.

"Something has breached the Queen **Kiande Amedha's** nest!"

* * *

Machiko crouched from her perch amongst the trees, looking right across at another tree that housed a very large and clean looking nest.

Next to it, several more nests remained hidden in the trees. Machiko observed each one before bringing her gauntlet arm up and typing into the device, signaling to Dachande. '_I've spotted seven nests, one to each tree. I'll ping you my location._'  
Machiko sent the message and then quietly waited for a reply back as she kept watch. Something didn't feel right.  
A silent light blinked on her arm and Machiko checked it to find that Dachande had replied to her immediately. '_What in Paya's name does 'ping' mean? And wait there, I'm on my way._' Smiling to herself, Machiko typed back to him. '_It means I sent you my location. Speaking of, any reports from the others?_' Machiko didn't have to wait long for Dachande to reply. 'Sei-i._ Two more flocks of nests have been discovered. Between you and the other two, it seems we are located right in the middle of three over-lapping territories amongst the flocks. This could get very bloody soon._' Machiko pressed her talons against the gauntlet's buttons and replied. '_I'll wait for you here._'

Wait she did. Machiko crouched on that branch until her legs became numb.

Finally, after a long while, Machiko heard the sounds of someone approaching behind her. The approaching person was attempting to be as quiet as possible, but the bark of the tree was making it impossible. The bark was designed in a way so that any pressure on the bark would immediately tear it away, causing tree sap to pool on the surface of the trunk that hardened quickly. It made it hard to stalk any prey in the area if you used trees as transportation like Machiko had.

It also made it harder for anyone to sneak up on her as well.

Expecting it to be Dachande, Machiko whipped around and was prepared to chew him out for sneaking up on her when she saw that no one was there. Mildly confused, Machiko stood up and looked around. No one was there. No one she could visibly see, anyway.  
Suspecting that Dachande had gone invisible, she shook her head. "Alright Dachande, that's enough. Come on out and look at the nests while there's still light." She clicked, folding her arms in annoyance.  
Nothing moved or made further sounds. Machiko narrowed her eyes and looked closely around the area. "Seriously Dachande, no more games. Come out." She ordered, visibly irritated. Looking in the direction of where the noises had come from, Machiko spotted gouges in the tree trunk's bark that were not caused by her own climbing. Crouching low again, Machiko's eyes traveled up the gouges until they came to an end nearly level with her own marks. Creeping forward, the shade cast by the trees made it too dark for her to see where she new a wavy outline should be. She was about to reach out and touch the area when a hiss sounded right by her 'ears'.

Machiko flung herself backwards just as a snake-like creature fell out of the branches above her.

The thing looked like a snake, but horns adorned it's head like a porcupine. The tips were red while the rest of the horns' surfaces were a yellowing white in color. It had the long, thin body of a snake, but when it lifted its head, its face was closer to that of a warthog. Tusks protruded from its mouth, a snout with the unique shape of a pig's extended over them. Long patterns of vibrant color cascaded over the scales of the creature, which made Machiko come to one conclusion.

Venomous.

Machiko tried to leap backwards, but the creature had coiled its head and sprung out far enough to reach Machiko where she landed. The snake bit her calf with a vicious snap and Machiko let out a roar of pain before grabbing at the snake-thing's head. She grabbed at the horns and her palms immediately began to burn as she yanked the head back. The snake let go with a squealing hiss and Machiko flung the thing away from her. Her throw was weak and the snake didn't land far enough away before it rose to make another attack. Machiko felt her vision blur in front of her and her balance was suddenly thrown so off kilter that she fell backwards onto her bottom with a heavy thud. The branch dipped under her weight and Machiko felt herself beginning to fall out of the tree.

Several things happened at once that she could only vaguely make out.

Another yautja suddenly materialized beside the snake and shot an arm out with lightning reflexes. Machiko's blurred vision couldn't make out the wrist blades that were extended from the gauntlet, but she did see the snake's head fall away from the body in a bloody mess. The other yautja's body became a blur again, and this time she vaguely felt arms slide under her own body and lift her up before she could fall out of the branch completely. Her head was swimming and felt as foggy as one did when they had a cold, only a lot worse. The arms tightened around her torso and Machiko felt herself being pressed to a firm pair of abs. "Da'dtou-di!" Came the exclamation from a familiar voice.

Machiko struggled to get her mandibles to move into coherent words. "Shor. . .ty?" She felt too sluggish to talk.

She was lifted up even higher against the yautja's chest and pressed as close to him as physically possible. "Don't speak." He clicked. "Just focus on breathing." He sounded a bit panicked and Machiko had the dizzying sensation of wind moving against her. Shorty shifted her around so only one arm was cradling her to him and the other could be heard gripping onto the bark of the tree.

Slowly, Lar'nix'va carried Da'dtou-di down the tree until they reached the base.

As carefully as possible, Lar'nix'va set the woman down amongst the roots of the tree before kneeling beside her. He could tell she was nearly unconscious and he needed to treat her quickly before the second stage of the venom kicked in. Grasping her leg, he gently pulled on it until it was extended straight out. Looking at the bite mark, Lar'nix'va propped her leg up on his knee as he reached behind his back and grabbed the emergency medical pack they all carried. Whipping it around, he quickly set the portable equipment up and got a small flame going. Taking a small scalpel, he pressed the flat of the blade against the puncture wounds of the bite, adding enough pressure that some of Da'dtou-di's blood seeped out. The woman let out a his of discomfort beside him and Lar'nix'va clamped his mandibles together. "Da'dtou-di, keep talking to me. I need to know that you're awake." He urged, taking out a vial and scraping her contaminated blood into it. The beautiful woman sluggishly moved her head as if she were trying to shake herself out of a daze. Good, she wasn't completely affected yet.

"What are. . .you. . .doing here?" She weakly clicked. She felt she had no strength in her mandibles.

Lar'nix'va frowned as he tried to concentrate on answering her and finishing the mixture at the same time. He held the vial over the miniature fire before answering. "I couldn't leave you alone." He clicked, watching the toxins separate and pool at the top of her blood thanks to the heat. He dipped the scalpel in and tried to scoop only the venom out before setting the vial aside. He heard Da'dtou-di shift beside him. "W. . .why?" She clicked. Lar'nix'va felt his heart thump as she spoke. He tried ignore the feeling as he grabbed another vial to scrape the toxin into. "Because I _pauked_ up and I need to make it up to you." He clicked, heart clenching at his own words.

'Don't you dare become an emotional mess right now Lar'nix'va! She needs you to be strong and heal her!' He thought to himself.

Grabbing a third vial that held a strangely colored substance, Lar'nix'va poured the mystery fluid into the vial that held the toxin and swirled it around. He held it over the fire again to help the mixture combine thoroughly. Out of the corner of his eye, Lar'nix'va could see Da'dtou-di struggling to get up. He turned back around and placed a gentle hand on her stomach. "Please don't." He begged. "Movement will only make the venom travel faster." Da'dtou-di blinked slowly at him as she took this info in. "What. . .bit me?" She asked.  
Seeing that the concoction was done, Lar'nix'va turned and grabbed a cloth out of the medical kit before turning towards her. "A vipen-ti." He replied. Holding the cloth over the vial, he let the mixture soak into the fabric before moving it over to Da'dtou-di's leg. He pressed the cloth to the bite mark and had to hold her leg still as she let out a yelp of pain and flinched at the contact. Lar'nix'va had to visibly keep himself from flinching as well. "I'm sorry." He pleaded. "It's going to hurt a little."

'And the last thing I want to do is hurt you further.' He thought to himself.

Removing the cloth after holding it there for an exact minute, Lar'nix'va observed the bite long enough to see puss seep from the wound and fall to the floor. The mixture was working. Grabbing her hands, Lar'nix'va saw the scratches there from where she had grabbed the creature's head and pressed the cloth to the wounds. Da'dtou-di let out another small cry of pain and Lar'nix'va pressed his forehead to her arms in an attempt to keep himself from shaking all over. Her sounds of pain were now the absolute worst sounds in the universe to him right now, and he was fighting internally with himself over the guilt that was washing over him.

His fault. This was all his fault. He kept messing everything up.

Removing the cloth, more puss left the indents in her flesh and Lar'nix'va rewet the cloth with the mixture before repeating the process to her leg again. He'd have to do this several times until no more puss would come out of both wounded places.  
Lar'nix'va looked up and saw her eyes were half-lidded and trying to fight off sleep. The desperate urge to hold her took over him and it took everything in him not to wrap his arms around her one more time. He craved her touch more than anything, and not even in a sexual way. Not sexual at the moment, anyway.

The desire to feel affection from her was overwhelming and made him hurt even worse.

Lar'nix'va had just barely finished completely removing the venom when Dachande arrived. He landed on the ground with a hard thud and strode towards the pair of them, a look of frantic worry on his face. "What happened?!" He demanded. "And why are you here?!" Lar'nix'va flinched at his tone and looked up at Dachande, his eyes sad.

Dachande was in a panic. When he saw that Machiko's tracker had rapidly changed locations, he had grown concerned that she had been attacked.

When he got there and had spotted Lar'nix'va on the ground with Machiko leaning against a tree, he had thought she was dead.

Lar'nix'va softly clicked his mandibles in order to reply. "A vipen-ti attacked her." He answered the first question and lifted one of Da'dtou-di's hands, turning her palm upward to show the wounds. "It bit her leg and then she grabbed its horns to pull it off of her." Dachande let out a groan as Lar'nix'va held up the damp cloth as proof. "That still doesn't answer why you're here though." Dachande pointed out.

Lar'nix'va turned his head towards the ground, dreads shielding his face, and Dachande was surprised to see his body tremble as if in pain.

"I couldn't leave her." Lar'nix'va's voice sounded strained as he spoke. By his shaking, Dachande could tell that he was either already crying, or was going to cry. Dachande's lower mandibles drooped into a frown. "I know what she means to you." He softly said. Lar'nix'va raised his head and finally looked at Dachande, eyes wet and holding back his tears. Dachande gestured towards the now sleeping Machiko. "Lar'nix'va, I wont punish you for stepping out of line to make amends with your intended mate. I may not have been gifted one myself, but I know the importance of Paya's blessings when he sends them." He let his arm fall to his side. "Thanks to you, she lives. I may not have gotten here in time." Dachande shook his head. "So now that you're here, I am putting you in charge of her until she wakes up." Dachande turned his back to leave before looking over his shoulder at the young unblooded. "Keep her warm."

With that, he left.

Lar'nix'va gapped at his leader's back as the older male left. Did. . .Did Dachande just give him permission to. . .  
He turned his head to look back at Da'dtou-di, who was slumped against the tree in an uncomfortable position. Lar'nix'va slowly crawled towards her, heart thumping. Her face didn't quite have a look of peaceful rest, but neither would his if he had just been bitten.  
Reaching out, Lar'nix'va gently grabbed her shoulders and shifted her around him. He wedged himself between her and the tree roots, leaning backwards so she could rest her head against the juncture of his neck and shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her middle, feeling his heart beat erratically in his chest.

The feelings he felt for her, he couldn't even begin to describe.

Lar'nix'va pressed his face against the side of her dreads and closed his eyes. He had held her like this before, after the Witch transformed her into a yautja and had caused her to go into a coma. His entire being was raked with guilt and desperation just like it had been then. His breath caught in his throat and he choked on the sob that was rising up.

'Da'dtou-di! I'm so sorry!' He screamed in his mind.

His hands felt her side and he remembered the bruises that were still there. Any normal yautja, and those bruises would have been long gone by now. They weren't gone on her. They were still there, torturing him with the memory of what he had done. Constantly reminding him that he had hurt the woman who was supposed to be the biggest blessing from Paya in his life. Reminding him of the fact that he had lost her because of his actions.

Lar'nix'va kept his face pressed against her dreads and let himself cry. He didn't care who happened upon them and would see him show this disgraceful weakness.

He just wanted to hold her while he still could. Until she woke up and he could never hold her again.

It was hours before Machiko finally woke up.  
She blinked her eyes drowsily and tried to process what was going on around her. Something pleasantly warm had itself wrapped around her, and her tired mind told her to snuggle into that warmth and go back to sleep. Machiko moved to do just that. Shifting onto her side, she pressed her face further into the warmth and let the lull of it begin to pull her back into sleep. It wasn't until the warmth shifted against her and a hand cupped the side of her face that her mind finally became alert.

Blinking her eyes open, she first looked at the hand pressed against the side of her face, and then followed it up the arm to the yautja it was connected to. "Shorty?" Machiko quietly clicked.

The short yautja jolted at the sound of her voice and looked down at her. "Da'dtou-di? You're awake?" He moved around to sit up with her still in his arms. Machiko groaned and tried to sit up and away from him. Her throat felt dry and she really just wanted some water right now. A dizzying spell hit her head and she suddenly slumped against Shorty's chest again. Machiko heard Shorty gasp beside her and felt him hold her tighter. "Da'dtou-di, are you alright?!" His tone held nothing but concern for her and Machiko's tired mind almost thought it was cute. Machiko shook her head. "_Md-i_, I'm fine. I'm just. . .thirsty at the moment." Her mouth grew even dryer from speaking. She felt Shorty shift against her and suddenly something was pressed against her hands. "Here, drink." Shorty encouraged. Machiko kept her eyes closed as she could feel in her hands that it was the water container that all the yautja carried. Feeling the mouth piece and finding that the container was uncapped, Machiko raised it to her lipless teeth and began to down the cool substance. The water was soothing against her throat and Machiko drank it greedily.

Once done, Shorty took the container from her and Machiko finally opened her eyes to look around. "What happened?" She asked again, still resting against him.

Machiko felt Shorty's hand rest on her waist and didn't bother to shove it off like she normally would have. "You were bitten and scratched by a vipen-ti." He answered, cupping one of her hands with his own. Machiko didn't bother to stop him. "Is that what that ugly thing was?" She asked, her mind recalling the snake-like creature. "_Sei-i._" Shorty answered. "Both its fangs and the horns on its head are laced with venom. After it bit your leg, you grabbed its horns by mistake and took more venom into yourself when it scratched up your palms." Shorty turned her hand over so she could see the palm for herself. Machiko grunted at the wounds there. "So that's why they still sting." She spoke, mostly to herself.

In an instant, Shorty's hand laced its fingers through hers and he pressed his palm to her own. Even Machiko had to admit that it felt nice.

"This is all my fault." He claimed, his hand shaking in hers. Machiko tiredly tilted her head up to look at him. "How is this your fault?" She asked. "I'm the one who didn't react in time." Shorty shook his head at her and shifted beneath her. "I'm the one who was following you." He quietly admitted. "If I hadn't then you wouldn't have heard me and you would have gone off to another tree that didn't have a vipen-ti in it." Machiko wanted to roll her eyes at his logic. "_Sei-i_, true I wouldn't have heard you. My chances of running into one, however, were high anyway. . .wasn't it you who caught me from falling?"

"_Sei-i_." Lar'nix'va softly admitted.

"Weren't you the one treating my wounds from the venom?" She asked.

"_Sei-i_." He repeated. "Then it's not your fault. Especially when you saved me from dying." Machiko didn't know why she was trying to comfort Shorty. She was still mad at him for his treatment towards her in the past.

It must be the affects of the venom getting to her.

Machiko tilted her head to look at him. "Shorty." She said firmly. "Why were you following me?" Her tone left no room for him not to answer. Machiko watched his mandibles droop into a frown when he finally answered. "Because. . .I. . ." Lar'nix'va swallowed before repeating his answer from earlier. "I couldn't leave you alone. . ." Earlier this had been easier to admit. She had been half conscious and wouldn't have remembered this event. Now she was awake and would remember every word he said. "I. . .I couldn't leave you alone knowing how badly I _pauked_ up with you. . .and I've been wanting to make it up to you ever since." Lar'nix'va bowed his head towards the floor, hiding his eyes from her. "Da'dtou-di. . .I'm sorry. . .for everything I've done." His throat felt thick and clogged as he spoke. Lar'nix'va felt the woman shift around until she was sitting up and away from him. "Shorty. . .Listen, I'm-"

She was interrupted by the sound of rapid beeping coming from both of their gauntlets.

Shorty grew so startled he newly bucked her out of his lap as he looked at the blinking light on his wrist. He threw his arm up and stared at the light with wide, scared eyes. Machiko had never seen the light before in her two years of having the gauntlet. "What does it mean?" She demanded.  
Shorty cast a quick look at her before suddenly throwing his arms underneath her and standing up, carrying her bridal style against him. Machiko let out a sound of shock and indignation as Shorty careful set her on her feet and then started grabbing his discarded medical supplies. "Something's very wrong on the ship!" He exclaimed, packing up the last of his stuff and then turning towards her.

"The Queen's nest is wide open!"

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Paya:** Their God of Thunder and Lighting. Also known as the god of the hunts.

-**oomans:** human

-**Md-i:** No

-**Sei-i:** Yes

-**pauk:** Fu**

-**Kiande Amedha: **Hard meat (Xenomorph)

_I'm sorry this is two weeks late! I went on a trip last weekend and didn't get a chance to update. Anyway, here's some fluff and a little bit of sexual tension for you all. Enjoy! And let me know what you think of it in the comments below._


	23. Chapter20 In Which He Falls

The Witch looked through her scrying bowl with a smirk.

The bug Queen let loose a roar of rage before bashing her head against the weakened barrier that was her prison. The door leading to her cage had been opened partially. The chains binding the Queen had been conveniently loosened. The Queen, thanks to her unique way of seeing, was able to sense this and took her chance. Yanking free of the chains, she charged at the door and started bashing the small opening with her thick crested head. In three bashes, the door was rendered useless and unable to close again. It still wasn't wide enough to let the Queen through, but three more bashes from her domed cranium should fix that.

The Witch gave a soft, twisted cackle to herself as she changed her perspective to the guards that were stationed outside of her holding cell.

They were nice and passed out, just how she wanted. Another cackle and she changed her perspective again to five certain yautja making slow progress to the Queen's nest. Three of the five were only barely making it on to a transport pod back to the main ship. Two out of the five were nearly there.

The Witch smiled at the view.

"Oh, this is going to be good!"

* * *

Dachande's heart beat rapidly as he stared at the blinking light on his gauntlet.

The blinking was growing more rapid, signaling that the Queen was getting closer to breaking free. He stood in front of the others as they waited for the last of their hunting team to join them on the transport pod. The last remaining few trickled in, and they were off.

Dachande could do nothing but wait until they got to the ship.

Looking around, Dachande mentally started checking off who was there. Everyone was accounted for. Even Lar'nix'va, who was receiving some death glares from the other members for sneaking on to this trip. Dachande noted how Lar'nix'va ignored their glares and focused on Machiko, whom he was sticking to like a **Kiande Amedha** face-hugger to a victim. The woman was still having a hard time standing, and Lar'nix'va was practically wedged behind her, holding her up. Both of them were ignoring the rest of the world, attention only on each other.

Dachande would have been happy by this fact if more pressing matters weren't weighing him down.  
Like who broke into the Queen's chamber and let the beast free? And how he was going to make them regret ever being alive to do so.

Dachande clamped his mandibles together in anger and waited for the pod to arrive.

* * *

Vk'leita ran as fast as he could down the hallways, Yeyinda having no trouble keeping up beside him. Her long legs made her faster than him, but he knew she was purposefully holding back in order to stay by his side.

This little fact gave him some semblance of happiness in this chaotic mess.

The other yautja were scrambling about, but it wasn't out of disorder. All yautja were trained for moments like these. Queens have broken free from their prisons before. Procedures were followed in order to get her recaptured as quickly as possible, with minimal casualties. The yautja pressed to the sides of the hallways, letting Vk'leita through as he assumed leadership in Dachande's absence. Already the majority on board were adorned with armor and had their weapons out and ready to fight. The vents surrounding her cage were being sealed off, making it so her little spawns couldn't escape and run around the ship if any of her eggs hatched during the break out.

Vk'leita felt naked compared to the rest of them. Here he was, running towards danger in nothing but a loincloth and soaking wet from his bath. It wasn't the most circumstantially beneficial position to be in during a break out, but he'd have to make due.

"Barrier of nine! Layer it! Behind me!" Vk'leita roared his order at the yautja surrounding him.

Immediately, nine yautja took up position behind Vk'leita, and then nine more took up position behind those nine. This went on until they had a fierce looking mob running in unison down the hallway. The only one out of place was Yeyinda.  
Thankfully, no one dared to get on her case for it. The situation was too great for current reprimands. Besides, it wasn't her fault. Vk'leita never taught her what to do in these situations.

'_Another thing that I failed to do._' Vk'leita thought dismally. '_If she gets killed, this will all be on me._'

Vk'leita was about to stop. Stop the entire march and tell Yeyinda to go to her room and stay there until things were safe again. He didn't want-**couldn't** risk her! Never again could he risk her!  
Right when he was about to bark at everyone to stop, the Queen's head made a sizable dent in the door in front of them. The march of warriors stopped and watched with horror as one more bash would let her through. She had already broken out of her cage. Now she was almost free to rage around the ship!

Vk'leita had no more time. "Raise your weapons!" He roared, curling his claws and purposefully stepping in front of Yeyinda.

He couldn't get another command in as her head forced its way through.

* * *

The beeping signal on Dachande's gauntlet had now become a consistent ringing noise. An alarm to say that the Queen was fully free now.

"**Cjit!**" Dachande cursed as soon as they landed on the main ship.

Dachande flew out of the pod as soon as the door opened and the others followed behind. He was about to run down the halls to the Queen's cage when an unblooded intercepted him. "Dachande." He frantically bowed. "Vk'leita sends me. The Queen is free on the ship. What will you have me do?" The messenger hurriedly asked. Dachande flared his mandibles in aggravation before looking pointedly at the messenger. "Get to the healer's bay and tell them that they are to stay there and wait to take in the casualties. They are forbidden from joining the fight unless they are the last remaining yautja alive. Then join us at the frontlines." The unblooded hastily gave a half bow before darting away to do his job.

Dachande turned towards the rest of the yautja behind him. "Follow behind." He commanded, and then started running.

No one dared to question him.

* * *

The Queen barged out into the hallway and charged straight at Vk'leita. Vk'leita braced himself and flared his mandibles threateningly.

"Let her through and surround!" He yelled, darting out of the way at the last minute.

Yeyinda, thankfully, didn't have to be told to move. Her self preservation instincts did that for her. The rest of the yautja behind him all darted to the sides before facing the Queen charging through their ranks. The Queen made a fatal mistake and paused her rampaging in the middle of them. No one was attacking her like she thought they would and she wanted to know why. That's when the trap sprung.

Immediately, the yautja surrounded her on all sides and started stabbing at her with their spears.

The Queen let out a roar of shocked rage and whipped her tail out. The barbed end sliced through several yautja and toppled them to the floor in pools of green neon blood. The wounds she was sustaining from their spears were beginning to bleed. A fact that she was going to use to her advantage.

Whipping her bloody tail around, she flung the acid at the closest yautja and watched as they scrambled away and let out their own roars of pain.

The tactic broke up their ranks and the Queen wasted no moment in charging through again. Only this time she had been turned around and was going the wrong way. She was heading straight for her cage again.

Right were Yeyinda was standing.

Helena braced herself to leap on the Queen's head when Topknot got in her way. He took a defensive stance in front of her and roared at the Queen. Helena gapped at him from behind. "Topknot, what are you-!" She didn't have time to finish as the Queen's inner jaws snapped out and got him right in the chest. Topknot let out a roar of pain, but not before shooting his fist forward and punching her cranium hard enough to break through the exoskeleton. The Queen let out a screech of pain before reeling backwards and refocusing on the other attacking yautja. Topknot took a weak step backwards before his feet collapsed from under him. Helena made a strangled sound in her throat.

"Topknot!" She screamed, though her voice was lost in the fray of noise.

She ran to his side and held him up, examining his chest. The wound wasn't fatal enough to kill him right away, but he was losing a lot of blood, fast. For a moment, Helena's mind went blank on what to do. Then the Queen roared again and this time it was closer to her than before. Helena whipped her head up and stared as the Queen was charging her direction once more.

In that moment, a rage filled Helena. Rage at the Queen for what she had done.

Letting Topknot's body fall to the floor as gently as possible, Helena stood up and waited for the Queen to arrive. A deadly calm filled her body as her senses went hyper alert and time seemed to go in slow motion for her. She watched as the Queen's inner jaw snapped in and out along the way as she charged.

Helena waited for the right moment before grabbing the shaft of the inner jaw when the Queen was close enough.

The Queen tried to yank the second mouth back in, but Helena wouldn't let her. Opening her mandibles, Helena let out a roar of rage that rivaled the Queen's. Twisting on her heel, Helena turned with blinding speed and strength. Helena vaguely felt the Queen's body twist with her and that's all the motivation she needed.

With a vicious yank of her arms, Helena threw the Queen, by her inner mouth, back at the door to her cage.

The Queen's body went flying. Her back crashed into the beat up door and then her head smacked into it next. The Queen fell to the floor with a slump, and remained dazed for a few seconds before shakily returning to her feet.

Helena was about to charge at the Queen herself when she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder.

Looking behind her, Helena paused as she saw Dachande there, staring up at her. The elder yautja frowned at her before pointing towards Topknot's limp body. "Go. Take him to the healers. We'll handle this now."

Remembering that Topknot was dying, Helena moved with a jolt and easily picked up the smaller yautja in her arms. Cradling him close, Helena ran with all of her might down the hall.

She just prayed to whoever was listening that she'd make it in time.

* * *

Lar'nix'va stared at the scene before him as he and Da'dtou-di held back from the fight.

Well, him holding her back was more like it. Da'dtou-di was still leaning against him for support and he was conflicted on what to do. Join his brothers in the fight against the Queen or take Da'dtou-di out of there. The Queen was winning the battle and Lar'nix'va knew he needed to help them, but Da'dtou-di could barely walk and shouldn't be anywhere near here during the fight.

Lar'nix'va didn't get a chance to decide as the Queen let out another roar and charged at him.

Da'dtou-di froze beside him as they watched the Queen charge. Lar'nix'va made a split second decision and roughly shoved Da'dtou-di out of the way. With a yelp, she fell to the side of the hallway and looked up at him with frightened and confused eyes. The next thing he knew, Lar'nix'va felt a searing pain in his stomach and his vision went black.

Machiko let out an anguished yelp at the sight of Shorty being impaled by the Queen's tail.

The Queen had speared him in the stomach, but didn't go all the way through. Then she whipped around and flung Shorty's body away in the process. Machiko stood up to run after him when the Queen turned her attention on Machiko.  
Machiko glared at the Queen and took a fighting stance when the Queen's attention was stolen once more. Dachande came out of nowhere and speared her under her jaw bone. The Queen let out a scream and turned towards Dachande, who backed away slowly.

"Da'dtou-di!" He shouted. "Get him to the healers!"

With a silent nod of her shaking head, Machiko ran over to Shorty. Gingerly, she picked him up in her arms and winced when he gave a groan of pain from being jostled. Subconsciously, Machiko held him close to her as she stood. "Stay with me Shorty!" She begged. "You took care of me. Stay with me long enough to take care of you!" Turning on her heel, Machiko ignored the pain from her own wounds and ran down the hall.

It was the fastest she had ever run in her life.

* * *

Back in the Queen's near empty cage, a curious creature scuttled its way to a lone-open vent.

Having just left its egg, the creature was ready to do its job and further the Queen's demands for a nest of spawn. It would not fail her. It would find the perfect host for her.  
The creature followed the vents until it came across a strange clucking sound from a strange feathered creature.

The curious creature lowered itself through the vent and did what it was born to do.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Kiande Amedha**: Hard meat (Xenomorph)

-**Cjit**: Sh**

_I'm sorry this is late! And I'm sorry this is so short (not as short as Shorty)!_

_I just started a new job and am trying to get used to the new schedule. I don't know when I'll have time throughout the week to write this story, but I will, I promise._

_I'm also working on trying to write a book (a real one, not a fanfiction). It's only on the planning stages right now, so it's still got a long way to go, but I'm still working on it as fast as possible. I'm really excited to get it out there._

_So thank you for reading. I shall get back to you next week (hopefully)._


	24. Chapter21 In Which They Discuss God(s)

Helena hovered over Topknot's prone body.

She had gotten him to the medic bay just in time. The healers were able to get him stabilized and hooked up to monitoring machines. They had demanded an explanation from Helena and she had given them one. He was stabbed through the chest in his quest to protect her. Her questioning was quickly dismissed as soon as Machiko brought Shorty in. Turns out he had been doing the same thing too. For some reason, both boys had protected them and Helena wanted to know why.

As she stared down at Topknot, Helena didn't notice Machiko come up behind her and press a hand to her shoulder. Helena jumped at the contact and turned to look.

Machiko frowned at her with her two lower mandibles and then motioned with her head towards the door. "The Queen has been recaptured." She informed her. "More of the injured are going to be here soon. The healers want us to leave so we're not in the way." Helena stared blankly for a moment before looking back at Topknot and then back to Machiko. "I'm coming." She quietly responded. Machiko's frown deepened, but she nodded her head and left Helena alone for the moment. Helena turned back to Topknot and gently reached out. Using the tip of her claw, she brushed away a dreadlock that had flopped over the side of his face and had gotten caught in his mandibles in the process. She was careful not to let her skin touch it. Helena bent down and quietly clicked at him, though no one else was around to hear her. "When you wake up, we're going to talk about this." She promised his prone figure.

Standing back up, Helena turned and left for the door that Machiko had gone through.

As soon as she walked out, she paused as she saw Machiko almost being cornered by another yautja. Alarmed, Helena sped up her pace and quickly assessed the other yautja as she got closer.

It wasn't one that she had seen on the ship before. This one was a male like all the others, but the clothing he wore was a lot more intricate and detailed. His loincloth covered his bottom and even draped over his thighs a little, unlike the others. Beads and tassels hung from his dreads, each with a different symbol on them that Helena didn't recognize. His dreads were even more gray than Dachande's, signaling his old age. He held a beautifully carved staff, though the skull of some foreign animal adorned the top of it. His manor didn't appear threatening, though Machiko still looked on edge as she approached.

"What's going on?" Helena asked as soon as she got there.

The mystery yautja turned and took a moment to look Helena up and down before smiling at her. "Hello." He greeted, reaching up and shaking her shoulder gently. Helena was stunned for a moment and completely forgot to shake his shoulder back to return the greeting. Before she could correct herself, Machiko spoke up. "This guy's claiming he's an oracle." She clicked, eyeing the male yautja suspiciously. Helena turned her gaze back to the yautja and tilted her head at him as he bowed his head in return. "****Sei-i****, I am. I speak on ****Paya****'s behalf." "On who's behalf?" Helena blinked I confusion. The supposed 'oracle' chuckled at her and motioned with his head towards a nearby door. "Let's discuss this somewhere more private. I believe more of the injured will be coming this way soon." He prompted, moving towards the door without waiting for a response from them.

Sharing a look, both women eyed the back of the oracle suspiciously before reluctantly following him.

The oracle stepped into the room and held the door open for both of them to enter before closing it behind them. Then he turned back around and gave them each a warm smile. "I've been wanting to meet you both for a long while now." He said. Machiko frowned at him and folded her arms. "I'm sorry, what?" She demanded. The oracle shook his head and then took a seat on a nearby chair. "Let me start from the beginning." He said. "My name is ****Kal'drag-ne****. I am the head oracle on behalf of our thunder God, who's name is known as Paya. He is God over all the yautja, including you two now."

Both women blinked in rapid response to this information and opened their mouths to protest. "Wait, what?!" Helena exclaimed. Machiko glared at the oracle and clicked angrily before replying. "A god over us? Is this some missionary tactic to get us to convert to a new religion?" She demanded. The oracle, Kal'drag-ne, sighed at their responses and leaned back in his chair. "_Paya_ informed me that you would not be so easy to convince. Tell me, do you two believe in Gods?" He asked.

For a moment, both girls were silent as they contemplated this.

Finally, Helena pressed her mandibles together and spoke. "****M-di.****" She said. Kal'drag-ne rose an eyebrow at her and she went on to explain. "I grew up in a Christian home," She said. "but my parents were overly authoritative on it. It pushed me away from the faith." The oracle tilted his head at her and contemplated what she said. "Forgive me, but I do not know what 'Christian' is." He stated. Helena shook her head and shrugged. "It's just a different God." She explained. "I see." The oracle said before looking at Machiko expectantly. Machiko had been silent the entire time, but now sighed as the attention was brought onto her. "_Sei-i_, I do." She reluctantly said.

Helena looked at Machiko curiously and so she felt prompted to explain. "Where I come from there are many gods and deities. I've made worship to them since I was a child." Machiko folded her arms and sat back in her chair. "It's just how I was raised."

The oracle took a moment to think over what they had told him before shaking his head. "Well, I am glad you both are familiar with the concepts of gods, at least."

He leaned forward and gestured to both of them. "You've seen the Witch." He stated. "Do you believe her powers godly?" Helena let out a breath and looked at Machiko before nodding her head. "_Sei-i_, I do. She managed to transform us both into. . .well, into yautja now." She frowned. Machiko sat up a little straighter and tapped her foot onto the ground. "Is she a god?" She asked. The oracle was quiet for a moment before shaking his head. "_M-di_, she is not." He stated. "While her powers are great, there are still some differences that she has with the Gods. Their sources of power are different, for instance. Some of the rules they follow are different as well." "Gods follow rules?" Helena asked dubiously. "If they want to keep their powers, _sei-i._" He stated.

Helena shook her head. "What does this have to do with us?" She demanded.

Kal'drag-ne tilted his head in a random direction. "Would you believe me if I told you that _Paya_ purposefully sent the Witch to transform you two? That _Paya_ wanted you to be yautjas from the start and that you becoming us wasn't some childish prank from the Witch?" His mandibles drooped into a frown as Helena glared at him. "I don't even believe in my own God!" She snapped. "Why should I believe in this one!?"

The oracle sighed and grew silent for a long while. His expression took on the look as if he were listening to someone. His attention had diverted from them and Helena looked over at Machiko to see her staring at the oracle, waiting for a response.

Finally, the oracle spoke. "_Paya_ wishes me to give you a sight blessing as proof." He said.

Helena blinked and Machiko tilted her head at him. "Sight blessing?" Her voice grew quiet and curious. Kal'drag-ne nodded at her. "_Sei-i_. It is a blessing where _Paya_ will speak directly through me to you. He believes he can use this to convince you of his presence." "And how would he do that?" Helena asked incredulously. The oracle raised a gently palm towards her. "I would place my hands on your head and both of us will close our eyes. Then _Paya_ will take over my voice and speak directly to you." He looked at each of them as he said this. "I promise I mean no harm." He quietly clicked. "_Paya_ wishes only to make things clear for you."

For a long while, nobody made a move. The silence grew awkward and then Machiko finally spoke up. "I'll go first." She declared.

Helena shot Machiko a worried look, but Kal'drag-ne gave her a reassuring smile. "Fair warning, this is going to take a lot of energy out of the both of us." He gently clicked. "It is part of _Paya's_ way of communicating with him. One must sacrifice their stamina in order to speak directly with a God." "I am familiar with this process." Machiko quietly said. "There are many Gods where I'm from, and many different ways my people worship them." The oracle lifted his upper mandibles in a genuine smile. "Then I expect no fear from you." He said, holding his hand out to her. "Come kneel in front of me." He instructed, kneeling down himself.

Machiko did as told, having no fear since Helena was nearby. If anything went wrong, her friend would have her back.

The oracle placed his hands on her double-crested head and looked down at her. "Ready?" He asked. "_Sei-i._" Machiko answered. "Good," He replied. "now close your eyes." With a final look towards her, he closed his eyes as well and his arms relaxed against her head. Helena watched the two wearily, her stance becoming a little more rigid. If this supposed 'oracle' planned to do anything suspicious, Helena was right there, ready to spring at him if she needed to.

"Machiko Noguchi." The oracle suddenly spoke, pronouncing her name perfectly.

Machiko's body jolted under the oracle's hands, but he kept going like nothing happened. "_Paya_ knows about your wish for proof of his existence, and he is willing to grant it, just this once. As proof, he offers knowledge. The knowledge that he has about you. Machiko,_ Paya_ knows about your past. He knows the wounds you received in your childhood, particularly caused by your father's actions." Now this really jolted Machiko, and her eyes shot open and she stared at the oracle. Kal'drag-ne pressed on. "_Paya_ knows the crimes your father committed and he knows how you have been trying to regain your family's honor ever since." His voice grew a little quieter. "Machiko,_ Paya_ wishes for you to know that he has a reason for you changing into one of his yautja. He wants you to know that you have a place here and a purpose. It will not be revealed now, but soon and in parts so you can understand."

The oracle took a large breath. "That is all _Paya_ wishes for you to know. . .for now." And suddenly, the connection ended.

The oracle slumped backwards and so did Machiko. Helena grabbed her friend by her shoulders and held her up as both Machiko and the oracle took deep heaving breaths like they had run a race. Helena stared at Machiko with concern. "Are you alright?" She asked. Machiko nodded and sat up a little straighter, opening her eyes. "He wasn't kidding when he said this would sap my energy." She clicked, leaning against Helena's legs. Helena frowned at her and pressed a gentle hand to her shoulder. "Well. . .now that that's over. . .was he telling the truth?" Helena asked. Machiko looked up into Helena's eyes and frowned. "_Sei-i_. . .he was." Then she turned her eyes to the oracle and her gaze became hard. "Because I've ****never**** told anyone about my father." Her clicks were hard and sharp. Kal'drag-ne sat up straighter after having been slumped against the wall's surface. "I'm sorry." He breathed. "_Paya_ did make it known to me what your father did. . .I promise I won't speak of it to anyone else." He stated sincerely. Machiko's eyes still looked distrustful, but now Helena was having doubts.

Was she wrong about Gods?

Kal'drag-ne turned his head and gave Helena a gentle look. "_Paya_ still wishes to speak with you too," He quietly clicked. "but he understands it if you do not trust me and wish not to continue this." Helena frowned at her choices and stepped out from behind Machiko. She looked down at the kneeling oracle and tilted her head. "Are you sure you can handle another one?" She asked, genuinely concerned about his health now. He looked too tired to continue. Kal'drag-ne shook his head and motioned her forward. "I can handle it." He insisted. Helena's frown deepened, but she reluctantly got down on her knees before the oracle. The oracle shifted and grabbed a chair beside him before sitting down on it and facing Helena. "I won't be able to reach your head kneeling down." He admitted sheepishly. Helena nodded, understanding perfectly that her height was a problem some times. The oracle lifted up his hands and motioned her forward. "Are you ready?" He gently asked. Helena leaned her head forward and pressed her forehead to his hands before closing her eyes. "_Sei-i._" She clicked.

The oracle closed his eyes too and began.

"Helena Smith," His voice rumbled. Helena tried not to jolt under his hands like Machiko had done. She had to fight hard not to risk a peek at the oracle. "_Paya_ wishes for you to believe in him, and so he grants you the same knowledge like he did Machiko. He wishes for you to know that he knows about your son with your past marriage. He knows why your husband's mistreetment of you caused the break in your marriage. . .he also wants you to know that little ****William**** is with him right now."

A sound escaped Helena's throat that couldn't be confused for anything but pure heartbreak.

Helena's hands shot up to her mouth and her head whipped backwards from the oracle's hold. That same sound escaped her mouth again as Machiko rushed to her side. Helena burried her head into Machiko's shoulder and let out a sob as heavy tears escaped her eyes and soaked into her friend's skin. Kal'drag-ne made a gasping motion behind them as the connection with_ Paya_ was suddenly broken and the pheromones of Helena's tears smacked against his scent glands. He held his chest in pain as her sorrow reached his heart. "I'm. . .sorry." He gasped, clenching his chest. He looked down at the floor in shame for making her cry, though it technically wasn't his fault.

Helena didn't hear him as her heart ripped open again.

* * *

The Witch looked down at the scene with a frown, her twisted mouth somehow able to form the muscles to do so.

Two yautja lay in the healing bay on sick beds, but only one of them was truly suffering at the moment. The other was too wounded for their subconscious to make itself known through dreams. The older of the two was shaking and convulsing in his bed. Their healers had to strap him down, not understanding why he was having such a bad reaction when his wounds weren't irritated or something similar.  
Though the Witch knew what was really going on.

A soft but deep voice spoke up behind her in a gentle tone. "You don't have to torture him in his dreams as well."

The Witch turned and saw the God of the yautja standing before her. _Paya_, he had decided to call himself.  
His body was formed by rolling thunder clouds and his dreads consisted of lightning bolts that had shaped themselves into the rod-like structure of all yautja dreads. His eyes lit up whenever a flash of lightning clapped behind them. The literal fabric of space made up his loincloth, stars sparkling each time he shifted.

Even now, the Witch had to admit he looked magnificent.

The Witch frowned at Paya and shook her head. "His own mind causes the dreams. . .if I were controlling them, both of those pups would be recieving the nightmares right now." Paya tilted his cloudy head at her and clicked curiously, each one sounding like distant thunder. "So why don't you?" He asked. The Witch swivelled her head and gestured to the two boys below. "If I use my powers and force them to see what I want them to see, they could die in their current state. It takes just as much energy from them to communicate with me as it does when they communicate with you." She stated. "You know this."

"I do." He nodded, head bobbing slow and moving closer to look at her skrying bowl.

The Witch leaned her knarled hand out and placed it on his shoulder, giving him a hard stare as he looked at her. "Why?" She demanded. At his silent gaze, she elaborated what she meant. "Why did you ask me to turn those two poor girls? Why them and not one of the yautja women already under your care? Why make them suffer, especially by my hand?"

For a while, Paya was silent, meerely staring at her but not really seeing her. Finally, after a moment's pause, he spoke.

"They have something that I need. Something that will save my yautjas if Vk'leita and Lar'nix'va can successfully win their trust back."

The Witch gapped at him and his answer. "What could they possibly have that you need?!" She exclaimed. "The engineers designed them with weak bodies, barely able to survive on their own planet. Their genetics are subpar to most species! What do they have that you want?" She demanded. Paya meerely stared at her before turning around and looking back at the skrying bowl. "If all goes well," He began. "then I shall reveal it to you after I have recieved the results I'm looking for."

He began to walk away. To return to the void of space and watch from a safe distance amongst the heavens.

The Witch was having none of that. She stepped forward and snapped her fingers, casting a freezing spell on his feet. Nothing that could harm him, but definitely an annoyance depending on which god you were dealing with. Paya turned and looked at her over his shoulder, unfazed. The Witch glared him down and crossed her arms. "Was it worth it?" She asked darkly. "**Everything** you asked me to do to those poor girls, was it worth it?" Paya tilted his head at her and the Witch was beginning to find it annoying. He softly clicked at her. "With the long lives those two will have now that they are children under my care, their suffering will be nothing but distant memories to them."

The Witch stormed forward and jabbed a finger into his chest angrily. Despite looking like clouds, he was quite solid to her. She snapped her fangs at him.

"You had me cause the car crash that took away Helena's child!" She jabbed him again. "You had me place the paranoia in Machiko's father's head that he didn't have enough money to support his family and so caused him to steal from his company." Another angry jab. "You had me place the gun in his hands when he wasn't thinking straight enough to reason with himself!" This time, she shoved at his chest, though he didn't move an inch. "And you had me cause the infestation on planet Ryushi by having me grow the greed in Ackland's heart so he would lie about the facehugger."

"Was all of that worth it!?" She shouted.

Silence ranged out in space, deeper than usual. Paya's expression turned sad and he held his hands out to her. The Witch reluctantly took them, knowing that phsyical affection from the Gods was a rarity not to be passed up. Even if she was angry with him. Paya squeezed her twisted hands gently and nodded his head. "_Sei-i_." He clicked. "It will all be worth it."

From behind Paya's legs, a child peeked out.

The Witch gapped at the child, not because it was there, but because it was human! The Witch looked back up at Paya, demanding an explanation, when Paya reached down and touched the boy's shoulder. "William." Paya said in a deep voice. "Meet the Witch." He brought the boy forward in front of him and the Witch stared down as the boy gave her an awkward wave. "Hello." He shyly greeted. Guilt crept into her heart as she looked at the boy who's death she had caused, but the boy didn't seem angry with her. This just confused her further.

The Witch kept gapping at him as Paya bent down, grabbed the boy under his arms, and hoisted him up so he was sitting on his shoulders. Paya turned his head towards the Witch and nodded at her. "We've got to go." He stated, turning to leave with little William riding on top of his shoulders. "You know what I need you to do." He called back to her.

The Witch gave a reluctant but angry sigh at his back. "Yeah yeah, I know." She huffed.

Paya simply nodded and stepped through the void of space, taking the child with him.

* * *

Vk'leita blinked at the empty space around him.

Everything was pitch black, and even his vision for seeing heat didn't work here. His confusion grew as a single light shined in the darkness.  
Curious and wanting to get out of the pitch black void, Vk'leita started walking towards the light. It grew brighter as he approached and soon enveloped him in its glow. The light however, was cold and unwelcoming.

Vk'leita was about to turn back when the light faded to a reasonable luminescence and he saw that he was no longer in an empty void.

Instead, he was back on the ship. Looking at the hallway he was in, he realized that he was right outside the door to the Grand room, where all the yautja meet up for ship wide meetings. Noise was coming from the room. A riotous sound that filled the air and told Vk'leita that some wrestling match was going on. None of the younger yautja got this loud unless a fight was happening for them to watch. Curious and very confused, Vk'leita followed the noise into the room.

What he saw stopped him in his tracks and made him want to run back to the black void of nothingness.

Before him, a crowd of yautja surrounded a raised platform with two persons standing in the middle. Vk'leita stared to find his own self standing on that platform. . .and a human Yeyinda facing him.  
His heart jumped to his throat as he realized what exactly he was seeing.

His dream version didn't give the signal for the match to start. He just charged at Yeyinda and didn't give her a moment to react.

"**STOP!**" Vk'leita shouted at his dream self from the crowd. He lunged forward and tried to run to the front to stop the fight, but the crowd of yautja were immovable, even though he outclassed all of them in strength. He pushed and shoved against all of them, but he made no progress to get to that stage. Vk'leita let out an involuntary yell of anguish as soon as he saw his dream self pin Yeyinda down. "_M-di_! _M-di_, please _M-di_!" He begged, throat clogging up and squeezing tight.

The crowd parted and finally let him through. Vk'leita waisted no time in running towards the front.

He saw his dream self let Yeyinda squirm under him and try to kick him off. Vk'leita managed to climb onto the stage and saw his dream self begin to raise his fist. Vk'leita dived and covered Yeyinda's head with his arms, leaning over her protectively. "Please don't!" He begged, looking up into his dream self's eyes.

The amount of hate he saw in his own eyes shocked him to his core.

His dream self's hand was about to come down and Vk'leita begged one last time. "_M-di_! Don't, she's our mate! She's our mate! Don't hurt her-" The fist came down.  
Vk'leita threw his head forward to block the blow, but his dream self's fist went through his head. Vk'leita's whole body seized up when he heard the sound of flesh connecting with flesh. His stomach turned and he nearly threw up when he heard her head connect with the hard ground underneath him.

He wanted to kill himself when he heard the unmistakable sound of her skull break.

Shaking so badly he almost fell over, Vk'leita sat back up and looked down at his prone mate beneath him. The rest of the yautja and his dream self disappeared. All that remained was Yeyinda and Vk'leita, now floating in the middle of a once again pitch black void. Vk'leita's throat squeezed when he saw Yeyinda change before him. She shifted until she was once again a yautja. Then she changed back into a human in the blink of an eye.

Back and forth she kept changing between the two. To make matters worse, her head started to bleed.

Vk'leita watched in horror as neon green blood spilled from her yautja skull, only to turn dark red once she was back to a human form. The blood would change with her body and Vk'leita could do nothing as it formed a pool around her. With one last rise of her chest, Vk'leita saw her take her last breath before her body refused to breath again.

He let out a scream into the void.

* * *

Helena sat out in the hall as Machiko had stayed in the room to talk to the oracle.

She stared unblinkingly at the floor when she heard a set of footsteps approach her. Helena blearily blinked her sore eyes as she looked up at the one approaching. She had stopped crying a long time ago, but her eyes were still red and irritated from it. Helena tilted her head in surprise as someone who looked a lot like Topknot approached her. He was even dressed similarly to him.

The yautja clicked his mandibles awkwardly as he stopped before her. "Are you the one called Yeyinda?" He asked.

Helena stared at him wearily before nodding. "_Sei-i_. . .I am." She answered slowly. The yautja's shoulders relaxed and a breath of relief escaped his throat. "Thank _Paya_." He declared. "I came here as fast as possible as soon as I found out the Queen **Kiande Amedha** had escaped. Only to be told that my** mei'hswei's** mate got him to the healers in time." The mystery yautja closed his eyes in relief and didn't see Helena flare her mandibles at what he said. "His what?!" She exclaimed. The mystery yautja opened his eyes and stared at her curiously. "His mate." He repeated. "You know, his** bhu'ja jehdin**. I realize you're no longer **ooman** now, and probably have just been barely introduced to our ways of life. Didn't he tell you this already? I assumed he had since you're no longer mad at him."

The yautja male nearly jumped backwards in surprise as the seat underneath Yeyinda suddenly cracked from her clenching fists.

His stomach dropped when she stood up and towered over him. "Please," She said through tightly closed teeth. "explain to me what a _Bhu'ja jehdin_ is. . ." The male yautja stared up at her in surprise and slight nervousness. Had he said something wrong? He opened his mandibles and began to explain. "A _bhu'ja jehdin_ is-" "Is a gift from _Paya_." The oracle suddenly interrupted.

Both Helena and the mystery yautja turned towards the oracle as he spoke. Machiko stayed behind him and stared at the back of his head as Kal'drag-ne addressed the group.

"**Shi-karne**." The oracle looked directly at the mystery yautja. "Go attend to your _mei'hswei_. He is with the healers now." The mystery yautja, Shi-karne, nodded his head and turned to leave, glad to get out of that deadly situation he had unintentionally put himself in. As soon as he was gone, Helena rounded on the oracle with mandibles flared.

"Explain, now!" She demanded.

The oracle calmly addressed her, but his lower mandibles were drooped into a frown. "A _bhu'ja jehdin_ is the mate that _Paya_ himself has purposefully picked out for another yautja. They are told about their _bhu'ja jehdin's_ when they come to receive their sight blessings. These mates are. . .rare, for lack of a better term. _Paya_ hardly blesses anyone with them and yet he blessed. . .Topknot. . . . with one." He looked directly into Helena's eyes as he finished. "**You.**"

Helena gapped at him for a moment before throwing her hands up in the air in anger as she looked at the oracle. "So what? Does _Paya_ turn humans into yautja every time he says he'll give someone a mate?" She snapped. Kal'drag-ne frowned and shook his head. "_M-di_. You and Machiko are the first ones this has ever happened to." Machiko jolted beside the oracle and turned a steely eye on him. "Are you saying," She seethed. "that _Paya_ turned me into a yautja because I'm someone's _bhu'ja jehdin_ as well?" The oracle turned to her, frown growing deeper.

"_Sei-i_," He confirmed. "and I think you know who. . ."

Machiko's mind instantly went to Shorty and so she let out a roar in the oracle's face, making him flinch backwards. It wasn't aimed at him, but he sure did feel her frustration as she clenched her fists at her sides. Helena began storming around beside them, going in circles with angry paces. Suddenly, she let out a humorless laugh and slapped a hand to her forehead. "Of course!" She shouted, making the oracle look at her in concern. "Of course! This all makes sense now! Topknot was only being repentant to me because he believes I'm his** pauking** soul mate!" Her hand slipped from her head and she stomped the floor in anger. "He's not actually sorry! He's just afraid that he's never going to get laid thanks to his stupid religion!" Turning on her heel, Helena shot her hand forward and punched the wall, leaving a large dent behind.

Before the oracle could stop her, Helena stormed off, running down the hall and out of sight.

Kal'drag-ne turned his eyes back to Machiko, worried that she was going to run off and do something rash as well. Instead he found her to be deadly calm, which was just as unnerving. Machiko stood up straighter and looked at the oracle with unblinking eyes.

"There's a reason humans don't believe in soul mates." She said quietly. Kal'drag-ne frowned at her and so Machiko turned away from him.

"Thank you for speaking to us and showing us _Paya's _existence," She said, moving away from him. "but now we need to be alone." She turned and walked down the hall, following after Helena at a much slower pace.

The oracle had a feeling that everything had just gone horribly wrong.

* * *

Vk'leita cried for hours and hours over Yeyinda's dead body.

During that time, he had completely forgotten that this was just a dream and that she wasn't actually dead. It took him a long time to remember and when he did, it didn't make him feel any better. '_I want this dream to end._' He thought to himself as he curled up on the ground beside Yeyinda and continued to mourn there.

He stayed in that position until he felt a tiny hand place itself on his arm.

Blinking his eyes open in surprise, Vk'leita sniffed and turned to look at who had touched him.  
A small pup stood before him, frowning and tilting their head in confusion. A young female, from what Vkleita could tell. The young pup stared at him curiously before opening her mandibles to speak. "Dad," She began. "where's mom?"

Sitting up in surprise, Vk'leita turned back towards Yeyinda's body only to find her corpse gone.

Gapping in shock, Vk'leita turned back towards the little girl and found her staring at him in worry. Vk'leita tilted his head as he looked at her. She kind of looked like a miniature version of himself, but the shape of her eyes and chin were from Yeyinda. The pup clicked her mandibles impatiently and repeated her question. "Dad, where's mom?"

Vk'leita shook himself out of his daze and stood up. "I don't know," He admitted. "but why don't we go look for her?"

The young girl nodded her head and raised her arms up expectantly. A little stunned, Vk'leita automatically bent down and picked her up. The pup wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder like she was tired. Vk'leita secured her to his side by wrapping his arms around her and turning to see where they could go.

Suddenly, they found themselves in a familiar hallway again. The same one as before.

Vk'leita's mandibles shot open in horror as he heard that same riotous sound again. The pup in his arms turned her head and looked at the dreaded door curiously. "Is mom in there?" She asked. Vk'leita's mind scrambled on what to do when the doors shot open, revealing the commotion inside. The pup squirmed in his arms until she managed to jump out and run through the doors.

"Wait!" Vk'leita shouted after her, but she was already gone.

Vk'leita internally cursed and ran after her, shoving through the crowd in an attempt to reach his daughter, who was surprisingly already at the raised platform. Vk'leita saw his daughter's face turn into one of horror as she watched her mother get pinned by his dream self once more. "Mother!" She shouted, reaching up to climb onto the platform.

Then he watched his daughter scream as she watched her mother getting punched by her father.

Vk'leita roared in pain as his throat closed up again. The crowd once again disappeared, but this time is was just him and his daughter.  
His little pup looked up at him with tear streaked eyes and Vk'leita could already feel his heart clench in pain, though no smell of her tears reached his scent glands, yet. Vk'leita felt his eyes well up as well as he fell on his knees before her. His daughter backed away from him and gave him a look that shattered his resolve. She cried harder as she opened her mandibles and screamed at him. "You killed mommy!"  
Then she ran away.

Vk'leita felt his heart break once again.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Sei-i: ** Yes

-**Paya**: God of thunder and the Hunt.

-**M-di: **No

-**mei'hswei:** Brother

**-Bhu'ja jehdin:** Spirit Spar (yautja equivalent of a soul mate.)

-**ooman:** human

-**pauk:** Fu**

-**Kiande Amedha**: Hard meat (xenomorph)

_Here's a long one to make up for the last short one._

_Welp, I hope this revealed some answers for you all! Such as what the heck was Topknot's brother's name (I literally just came up with it now)._

_Anyway, I shall see you all in the next chapter. Bye!_


	25. Chapter22 In Which Dreams Break

Male Yautja, Machiko came to realize, did not have nipples like male humans did.

She noticed this startling fact while staring at Shorty's shuddering chest as he lay unconscious on the medic bed they had set up for him. She had noticed this trait before, but the full clarity of it hadn't hit her until now.  
Truthfully she had just been trying not to look lower than his chest region. Seeing the gash marks in his stomach made her feel sick to try to look at.

'_I wonder how they felt when they realized human males did have nipples. And what would be their reaction to realizing those nipples had the same stimulations as a female's._' She thought, trying to distract herself.

Her distraction worked until a door opened up behind her.

Turning to look, Machiko saw the head Healer of the ship pause to gap at her for a moment before tilting his head. "You are here?" He clicked curiously. Machiko simply nodded before looking back down at Shorty. "He stood in the Queen's way as she charged me," She clicked. "the least I can do is watch over his recovery." That last part came out as more of a mumble. She didn't turn her head to look as she heard the Healer shift and move behind her. Suddenly, he was by her side near Shorty's bed. "I was under the notion that you hated this pup in particular." He stated. Machiko lifted her head to look at the healer who gestured towards Shorty. "Pup?" She asked. The healer nodded. "He is not yet blooded," He stated. "though possibly fully grown, I will not acknowledge him as anything other than a pup until he has proven himself in his ****Chiva****." Machiko didn't react to this knowledge and simply turned her head back to Shorty.

"I do not hate him," She stated, though her tone was unsure. "not anymore."

She didn't really know what she felt towards him. Confusion, mostly. This whole situation was causing her more stress than she was used to.  
Machiko had never been good with personal relationships. Sure, there had been a couple of people who she had been able to connect to instantly, but they were few and far between. Very far between! Her last date she had was years ago, back when she still lived on earth and had barely been given the notice that her request to become the overseer of Ryushi had been accepted. Her date had come off as clingy to her. Begging her not to go and to stay with him, promising that he'd make her happy.

It had only been their third date and Machiko was more than willing to go on to Ryushi, if nothing more than to leave that clingy man behind.

Now here she was, told that she was some sort of soul-mate to this. . .in her mind, man who still acted like a child. It gave her a headache to think about, and she just wanted to curl up somewhere and sleep it off, just like she would if this had been a work problem.  
'_Maybe I could curl up in the bed with him and-_' Machiko shook her head, refusing to allow that train of thought to go any further. The last thing she wanted to do was get closer to him. To lay down beside him and rest her head on his strangely attractive nipple-less chest. . .

Maybe she shouldn't have come into this room to watch over him after all.

* * *

Vk'leita could no longer tell that anything he was seeing was a dream. It all felt too real to him.

That fact alone made the nightmares oh so much worse.  
After his daughter had run away from him screaming, his body had returned to the empty space where he couldn't see. For a long while, he felt himself growing numb, both to physical and emotional sensations.  
Then once again, the bright light returned in the distance.

Forgetting what had happened the last time he followed the light, Vk'leita picked himself up and mutely followed the glow until it encased him again.

Once the brightness had ceased to blind him, Vk'leita saw that the entrance of a cave opened up before him.  
The look of the opening seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before. As far as he was aware, it was just an ordinary cave. No **h'dui'se** reached his scent glands that could help him identify the cave. In fact, no **dai-shui** from the surroundings reached his glands at all. His natural hunting instincts and years of experience told him that something was severely wrong about this fact.

As Vk'leita walked closer, sounds finally reached his hearing drums, and he was glad to find out that it was the familiar clicks and growls of his native language.

One step further and Vk'leita was surprised to see several double-crested heads pop out of the entrance of the cave. Several male yautja, all unblooded, stood up and took on a basic defensive position around the cave's entrance. Their plasma castors whirled to life as they shot bolts past Vk'leita.

Even more surprising was the sound of **kiande amedha** screaming in agony as they died behind him.

Now he recognized what this was. A capture of a_ kiande amedha _Queen was taking place inside of the cave. The unblooded of course, tasked with keeping the drones occupied, formed a ring around the entrance so none of them could get in to help their Queen. For a while, more unblooded kept showing up to help, but Vk'leita recognized none of them.

Until two familiar faces popped up.

His heart stopped in his chest as he saw the** oomans** Yeyinda and Da'dtou-di appear in the ranks. The other yautja rudely jostled them around, obviously not fond of their presence. Vk'leita trained his eyes on Yeyinda as she had to concentrate doubly hard on keeping the _kiande amedha_ at bay while also keeping her balance from the rough shoves she was receiving from the others. Vk'leita didn't realize how bad it was until one rough shove nearly caused her to tumble from the formation and to certain death where a select few _kiande amedha_ had managed to make it close to within snapping distance of the defense line. Vk'leita felt himself lurch forward and try to run to her, knowing he was going to pick her up and carry her away from the danger as soon as he reached her.

He never got a chance to as Yeyinda and Da'dtou-di both looked back towards the entrance of the cave like they had heard a noise.

His heart thumped hard in his chest as he ran to stop them, but the pair slowly made their way inside the cave, no one stopping them. He ran faster to catch up and found himself passing through the bodies of the defense line like they weren't even there. He ran full tilt into the cave and didn't stop until he reached the main nest to the Queen housed inside.

He gasped as what he saw didn't match what he was expecting to see.

No Queen raged before him like there should be. No other yautja were there to tie her up. No eggs littered the floor, ready to hatch and find hosts.  
Instead, Vk'leita found a dream version of himself facing off against Yeyinda. Da'dtou-di lay at Yeyinda's feet, clearly dead if the amount of blood seeping from her chest was any indication. To his horror, Vk'lieta saw that the claws of his dream self were dripping with _ooman_ **thwei**, and something large and pulsing was clutched in his hand. Yeyinda was screaming something at him in her _ooman_ tongue, but he couldn't understand what it was.

Then his dream self reached his other hand up and a facehugger was clutched between his talons.

Vk'leita roared in agony as he watched his dream self slam the creature over Yeyinda's mouth and watched her collapse to the floor, fate sealed.  
"**M-DI**!" He roared, charging forward. His dream self gave him a contemptuous look before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Vk'leita fell to Yeyinda's side and picked up her body. He gapped at the facehugger that had her in **dhi'ki** and felt himself trembling. "Yeyinda! Yeyinda, please wake up!" He begged. She didn't move and made no noise in response. The facehugger's tail tightened around her throat in response to his shouting.

Vk'leita let out a guilt-filled roar as he watched her slowly die in his arms.

* * *

Helena slammed a fist into the practice target as she stormed around the empty dojo.

Weapons lay scattered all over the place, some caused by Helena's rampaging, most caused by the hurried rush of yautja to the breached Queen's nest earlier that evening. Helena was amazed at how fast her mood could change in just a couple of short hours.  
Just earlier that day she had been amused by the flustered way Topknot had reacted when she had performed his checkup. Now she was back to fully pissed off at him since apparently that supposed change of heart she saw in him wasn't actually real. It was all just some screwed up concept of a soulmate thanks to their 'God' who decided to mess with her life. Topknot was really only repentant because now that she was a yautja, she was suddenly valuable to him. Not that he regretted what he did to her when she was still human.

Helena's foot kicked at a spear, sending it flying into a wall, before she stormed over to a seat and sat down with a huff.  
She needed to allow herself to think and calm down. If she thought about something else, she'd be calm again.

Helena's mind started to drift off towards her chicken when the door to the yautja version of a dojo opened.

She let out a low growl from being disturbed, letting it go even lower as she recognized the scent from a yautja she had encountered briefly earlier. Topknot's brother, apparently.  
She let out a chuff as the sound of him coming closer reached her. . .ears?

"What do you want?" She angrily clicked out, not even bothering to open her eyes.

The steps of the other male yautja stopped beside her. A sound came out that Helena had long since learned was their version of awkwardly clearing their throats. His clicks were surprisingly gentle as he spoke to her. "I'm sorry to disturb you." He started. He had originally come here for a single purpose, but catching her scent outside of the **kehrite** made him realize that the Oracle had not been able to calm her angry temper as he had hoped.

Realizing he'd have to do that himself, he quickly switched tactics and decided that his original intentions could wait.

Once again, he awkwardly cleared his throat. "I realize that I upset you earlier with some things I said. I feel it is my responsibility to amend that." He declared. Finally, the female named Yeyinda cracked an eye open at him, and Shi-karne was momentarily stunned with how intensely beautiful they were. Unlike most yautja, who's eye colors ranged from brown to almost gold, hers were an intense light blue.

Light blue eyes that were glaring death at him right now.

"What, pray tell, could you possibly do to make me any less pissed off at your brother than I am now?" She snapped, sitting up straighter.  
Having dealt with plenty of angry females before, Shi-karne new better than to respond with anger himself. Drawing in a calm breath, he pulled up a nearby bench and sat across from her, respectfully coming down to her level. His tongue licked the backs of his teeth as he thought about what to say. "I'm afraid, due to our cultural differences, that I am not quite clear on some things. Why would you find a God giving you a perfect mate something to be angry about?" He started.  
Helena chuffed at his use of the word 'perfect' but let it slide. She guessed that's how all the yautja viewed themselves.

She sat up a little further and even leaned forward towards him as she spoke. "You know, your **mei'hswei** had me fooled for a while." She shook her head. "For a while, I thought he was genuinely sorry for what he had done to me and Da'dtou-di. I thought he actually regretted treating us the way he did, and hurting us just to humiliate us." Helena reached a claw up and pointed at her prominent bruise, satisfied when she saw the male flinch beside her. She leaned back a little further as she continued on. "Then I learned the truth. He doesn't actually regret hurting me or Da'dtou-di. He's got this screwed up concept that I'm some sort of soul mate to him, and now he's sorry that his actions are preventing him from getting laid!" Helena leaned forward again, fire in her eyes. "**That's** why I'm pissed!" She declared. "I'm pissed because he doesn't actually regret what he did. He only regrets it now that I'm one of you. If I were to turn back into my old self, become a human again and stay human permanently, he'd go right back to what he was doing before. Humiliating me and making an example out of me to show just how much he actually hates me deep down!"

Her breathing was hard and labored, and the other male simply frowned at her as he thought about what she said.

For a long while, neither of them spoke. Shi-karne was mulling over what she had said and Helena was convinced that she had backed the male into a corner he couldn't worm his way out of.  
So he surprised her when he did respond.

"**Sei-i**," He clicked, looking at her softly. "you are right with most of what you said." He shifted in his seat and clicked thoughtfully as he pondered on how to explain. "You are right when you said my brother only regrets it now that you're one of us." At her smug look, he continued on. "But it's so much more than that." Her smug look turned to one of irritated confusion, so Shi-karne elaborated further. "You are his. . .soul mate, as you put it. From a young age, my _mei'hswei_ knew of your existence. The Witch revealed to him your appearance and he has since been searching for you. However, the Witch only showed him your yautja self. He had no knowledge that you were going to be an _ooman_ when you two first met." Shi-karne dared to let out an amused chuckle as he thought of this fact. "If my _mei'hswei_ had known you were _ooman_, he would have immediately tried to court you as soon as you two had met. He probably would have even gone to your planet in a desperate attempt to find you sooner."

He looked up to find her expression sour, and quickly rectified his own mood. Yeyinda shook her head at him. "None of this is making my opinion of him any better." She declared.

Shi-karne shifted awkwardly under her hard gaze. "My apologies. I will try to explain better." He stated. Yeyinda folded her arms, so Shi-karne lifted his to gesture at her. "What I mean to say is this. You are destined for my _mei'hswei_. You are his **bhu'ja jehdin**." Then he gestured to himself. "I do not know how your kind view _bhu'ja jehdins_, but amongst my kind, they are taken with nothing but seriousness. To appose your _bhu'ja jehdin_ is a direct insult to our God and the gift he has given you." Then he gestured back to Yeyinda. "My _mei'hswei_ now knows that you were once _ooman_. If you returned to being _ooman_, he would still respect you like he does now. He is striving for your forgiveness, and that would not change if you returned to your first form."

He stopped talking once he saw her frowning at him. "You can't know that." She declared, but her argument sounded weak, even to her own ears.

Shi-karne shook his head at her. "I can." He replied, scooting a little closer on his seat.  
"You did not see the agony he was going through when the Witch revealed who you were. Amongst my kind, it is shameful to cry in front of others. It is seen as nothing but a weakness and you are unfit for this life if you cannot handle what it throws at you." Shi-karne frowned as he gazed at her.  
"For once in the many, many years my_ mei'hswei_ has been alive, he cried. He has never let a tear slip once, not since his youngest years of being a pup. Not even during some of his most grievous injuries. For you, however, he did. He cried once he realized how badly he treated you. He cried once he realized that it was you all along he had been searching for. He cried once he realized how big of a fool he had been from the start." Shi-karne took a deep breath and continued. "You have to understand, everything he has worked for was an attempt to impress you. If you had been a normal yautja female, raised amongst our kind, it would have. All of his achievements, his rank, his trophies, were all done in order to impress you and eventually provide for you once the courtship would start. But you are not a normal yautja, and that's what broke him. Because he realized that everything he's done is now pointless. Pointless because he screwed everything up the moment you came on board this ship and joined this clan. Pointless because the moment he laid his hands on you and gave you that bruise, he came to find out it was all over."

Shi-karne adjusted his seating and looked at her a little more boldly as he spoke. "Yeyinda, through no fault of your own, you broke him. He's never going to forgive himself and you cannot fathom the full impact you make on him. He has shamed himself beyond repair with his actions, and more importantly, he's realized how much he's hurt you and how wrong he was to do so."

Helena's expression held nothing but shock as the male in front of her gave her a more pleading look. "Please do not hate him anymore. I know a _bhu'ja jehdin_ means little to you, but it means everything to him. **You** mean everything to him! He has built this life in preparation to revolve around you and your needs. When you transformed into the yautja you are now, he saw all of that crumble before him. Everything he's done is now pointless because he believes that you are beyond his reach."

The room stilled as the two stared at each other and Shi-karne realized he was holding his breath. "Yeyinda. . .are you out of his reach?"

The words were barely a whisper, but the impact landed all the same. Helena sat back in her chair and her mind did a battle in her head, fighting with the male's words and trying to remain angry at Topknot as well. It wasn't working.  
"He still only regrets it because he thinks I'm his soul mate. He didn't regret it for the sake of regretting doing something bad." She argued, but it sounded weak, even to her ears.

A soft breath left Shi-karne as he looked at her sadly. "Don't we all make that mistake? Don't we all regret doing harmful things to others only when we realize how much it cost us in the end?"

Helena's mind slammed to a halt as her child's face immediately invaded her mind. Every mistake, every harmful thing she had ever done popped up and reminded her of what each of those mistakes had cost her in the end.

The life of her son. . .

Shi-karne remained silent as he watched her think. His words had made an impact, he knew. Her demeanor changed to show that she was deep in thought and that her emotions were battling inside her. Shi-karne opened his mandibles to draw in her scent more fully and he froze. Deep sorrow was coming off of her and he now feared that she was going to cry. Had he pushed her too far in an attempt to convince her?

She shocked him, however, when she raised her head and he saw no tears beginning to form in her eyes. There was, regretfully, a dull look there instead.

He watched her stare at him, but not really seeing him. "Why are you really here?" She asked quietly. Shi-karne blinked in surprise, but then felt his lower mandibles pull into a frown. "I need your help." He admitted. Finally, a small bit of focus returned to her eyes as she stared at him, so he pressed on. "My _mei'hswei_ thrashes in his sleep. The healers have him restrained, but there is a strong possibility he will still hurt himself if this continues." Shi-karne turned his eyes towards the floor, a sign of respect towards the yautja you ask a favor from. "I believe your presence can calm his thrashing. If your scent can reach him in his sleep, I believe it will pacify whatever dream has a hold of him."

Finally, he looked back up at her. "Please come with me to his room. . .he needs you. . ."

For a long while, Yeyinda was silent as she stared at him. Her eyes were blank and gave nothing away. Even her scent gave no hint to what she was currently feeling.  
For a while, Shi-karne was afraid that she would deny him this request, but then finally, she stood up from her seat and gazed down at him.  
Her face was blank as she stared down at him. "_Sei-i_. . .I'll do it." Though she had little hopes that it would work.

The male rapidly got down on the floor and prostrated himself before her, a gesture Helena had never seen any yautja make before, much to her surprise. She gapped at him as he looked back up at her from his spot on the floor. "Thank you." He breathed.

Feeling awkward about this show of gratitude, Helena merely nodded at him and when he got up off the ground, she turned to leave. "Let's go." She softly said.

Without another word, both left to go to Topknot's side.

* * *

Vk'leita held Yeyinda in his arms as her body convulsed and a** z'skvy-de** burst out of her chest.

He held his eyes closed and didn't open them to look, not even when the creature grew into a full sized _Kiande Amedha_ and roared its rage at him. He only opened them when he heard the creature get too close. Peeking one eye open, he saw the drone only an inch away from his body. The thing made a keening sound before snapping out its inner jaw and decimating his face.

Vk'lieta fell back with a yelp and blinked to find Yeyinda and the _kainde amedha_ gone.

Instead, he found his dream self staring down at him again, giving him a hard glare. Da'dtou-di's heart was still clutched in his hand. Vk'leita felt his stomach heave as he saw a second heart in his other hand. He didn't have to guess who's it was.  
His dream self held both still beating hearts out to him and then promptly dropped them on the floor by his feet.

"Is this not what you wanted?" His dream self demanded with a snarl.

Vk'leita silently stared at him with a gapping mouth as his dream self kicked one of the hearts closer to him. "Did you not want them dead?" He growled. "They plagued us the moment they stepped foot onto our ship with Dachande. They've brought dishonor to our clan by merely existing. Did you not want to get rid of them in anyway possible ever since you met them? Did you not want them dead?!"  
Vk'leita felt his lower mandibles pull into a frown as he slowly replied. "_Sei-i_," He admitted. "I did at the time. . .but those thoughts were wrong and shameful of me. . .I knew it then, and I know it now." His dream self waved a hand dismissively at him. "They were _ooman_! _M-di_ one would have cared if you had killed them outright." "That is not our way!" Vk'leita replied back with an angry snap.

His dream self stared at him as Vk'leita rose to his feet.

"That is not the way of our people." He restated. "We do not kill those worthy of our respects, even if we do not like them." Vk'leita hung his head as he looked down at the floor in shame. "I lost all honor the moment I decided not to tolerate their presence. I am not worthy to lead this clan if I cannot control my thoughts and think past my own selfish desires." His head hung even lower as his throat closed up on him. "I am not worthy of **her**. . ."

For a while, all was silent. Then his dream self shifted and let out a dejected sigh. "She was never ours to begin with. . .Dachande saw to that. . ."

Vk'leita whipped his head up and gapped as his dream self disappeared again. A bright, blinding light took his place. Vk'leita stared at the light with apprehension before reluctantly walking towards it. He was once again enveloped in the glow and a new scene appeared in the place of the empty space. Vk'leita looked around to see that he was in a bedroom, though he couldn't tell whos. It looked familiar, but his mind once again wouldn't tell him where he had seen this place before.

Taking a cautious step forward, Vk'leita froze as the door to his right opened.

When Dachande walked inside, Vk'leita gapped at him. "Dachande!" He called his name. "Why are you-" He froze again as he saw Yeyinda walk in behind him, holding his hand and smiling like the happiest woman in the universe. Vk'leita became aware of how heavy his heart was pounding in his chest as Dachande stopped and turned around to face Yeyinda. The thudding became beyond painful as he watched Dachande put his hands on his mate's hips. Vk'leita tried to take a step forward. "Get away from her!" He shouted, but found that he could not move closer to the pair. His shouting went unheard as well, as Dachande slid his hands down Yeyinda's hips and took her lower garments off with smooth precision. Yeyinda complied and kicked the garment off of her ankles the rest of the way, showing off her exposed lower body.

Vk'leita could do nothing but watch as soon both of them became undressed completely and Dachande lifted Yeyinda up by her waist and placed her in his bed before climbing on top of her.

Vk'leita stared as desperation took over him. "_M-di_!" He yelled, but neither heard him.

With a shattering heart, Vk'leita was forced to watch as Dachande rutted with his mate. No matter where he turned his head, the scene would follow his eyes. He tried, but his eyelids wouldn't close either. His legs still wouldn't move and Vk'leita was horrified to see Dachande use his mate over and over again. He seemed to have no end to his stamina and Yeyinda would always let him have his way with her.

Only when Yeyinda called Dachande's name during their mating did Vk'leita realize that he had no hopes with her. No chance of ever making things up to her.

His future was long over before he even met her. . .

* * *

Helena stared with a blank expression at the door that led to Topknot's medic room.

Shi-karne stood beside her, staring at her wearily. The woman had been silent the entire time, not giving away any of the thoughts she had been thinking inside. Even her scent gave no hint to what she was feeling. Shi-karne was mildly impressed by this, as it normally took a yautja years of training to control their _h'dui'se_ in order not to reveal their state of mind to others. Though he was more disturbed by the fact that she did not want to give anything away.  
He couldn't help but wonder if he had made a mistake in bringing her to help. What if she secretly planned to murder his _mei'hswei_ in his unconscious state as revenge? Was she hiding this desire in order not to receive his interference?

'_Not that I could really stop her._' Shi-karne thought as he looked the tall woman up and down. Yautja women were known for being larger and stronger than the men, proving to be even more deadly than any male with the help of armor and weapons on his side. **This** woman would have no trouble dispatching him and then taking out his _me'hswei_, and any other yautja that would stand in her way.

Shi-karne was shaken out of his thoughts as he suddenly heard her speak to him. "You should go find Da'dtou-di," She suddenly clicked. "and tell her what you told me. . .about soul mates, I mean."

Shi-karne tilted his head at her curiously. "The other female with you?" He asked. Yeyinda nodded at him, eyes still disturbingly blank. "She . . .is also someone else's _bhu'ja jehdin_. . . she needs to know just as much as I did, how important your kind view soul mates. . .please."  
Shi-karne hesitated, still weary of the large woman. "Will you be well on your own?" He asked cautiously. Yeyinda turned her head to look at him and she nodded slowly as she thought about it. "I can restrain him more if he keeps thrashing." She stated. "He wouldn't be the first patient I've had react this badly while unconscious." Shi-karne tilted his head again and Yeyinda explained. "I used to be a healer to my kind."

The male's eyes displayed genuine shock, so Helena turned away. "I'll see what I can do for your brother." With that, she went inside.

Helena closed the door behind her before Topknot's brother could follow. He may have been worried about him, but Helena needed to be alone with Topknot right now. At least alone in general. She needed to think.  
Looking back at Topknot in the bed, she frowned. His brother had been right. Topknot's lower arms and legs had been strapped down, but he was still thrashing badly. His head whipped from side to side and his torso was trying to follow it, though was having a hard time due to the light restraints. Helena looked up to find the head healer staring at her with gapping mandibles. She frowned at him and looked away. "You can go. I can take care of him." She quietly suggested. The healer frowned back at her and straightened his stance. "I need to restrain him further." He insisted. Helena nodded and looked at Topknot again. "Where are they? I can do it."  
The healer was shocked by how calm and quiet she appeared to be. Was this really the woman who had threatened him this very morning?

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he stared hard at her. "Why do you want to help him?" He demanded.

He watched her turn towards him and shrugged. "His _mei'hswei_ asked me to," She looked away again. "figured I could try."  
Frown deepening, the head healer sighed and clenched his bottom mandibles over his upper ones, the equivalent of humans biting their lower lip. He shouldn't let her tend to Vk'leita, but he had other patients to get to. There was nothing more he could do for the clan's second in command except restrain him further.  
Noting Yeyinda's larger than average size, he knew that task would be no problem for her either.

Finally, he relented.

"The straps are in the bottom draw over there, third one up from the far right." He pointed. Yeyinda mutely nodded at him and the head healer made to leave. Yeyinda didn't stop him to ask more questions as he left and he cast her one last glance before making his way towards the rest of the injured.

Instead of going to the drawer that the healer had indicated, Helena strode towards Topknot's bed. There was something she wanted to try.

His brother, whom she realized she had neglected to ask for his name, had suggested that her scent could calm him. She didn't know if she believed that, but it was worth a try.  
Leaning over his thrashing body, Helena lowered her arm close to his head. She knew he had no nose, but he had to be able to pick up her scent somewhere on his body. She kept her hand close towards his mouth, but out of the reach of his convulsing mandibles. She knew those things were sharp enough to tear through skin.

Helena watched in shock as the reaction was almost instantaneous.

Vk'leita's whole body slowly came to rest as he took deep, shuddery breaths. His mouth opened wider and his mandibles stretched as far as they could go each time he would breath in. After a few breaths, his body became completely calm, but his mandibles then extended forward, as if reaching for her. . .

Helena slowly lowered her hand closer to his mouth.

She couldn't help but watch in rapt fascination as his mandibles pressed against her hand and then wrapped around her wrist like they were fingers. His mandibles pulled her hand closer and Helena felt the back of her hand being pressed to the front of his teeth. His mandibles tightly held her hand there as he took deep shuddery breaths of her scent.

Helena couldn't help but gap at the scene, stunned that Topknot's brother had been right. He had calmed down as soon as he could smell her.

Awkwardly standing over him, Helena looked behind her to see if she could pull a chair over to sit in until he eventually woke up or released her. She saw none within reach, not even ones that her long legs could pull over.  
Huffing in annoyance, Helena looked back down at Topknot. There was room on the bed. . .

Making a split second decision, Helena reached down with her free hand and released Topknot's arm from the restraint. Immediately, his freed arm came up and clutched her arm that was being held to his mouth. She grew surprised at the desperate hold that he kept on her arm.

Frowning, Helena slid onto the bed beside him and took a more comfortable seating position while he kept his hold on her. She sighed at the absurdity of it all.  
"Don't worry big guy," She quietly clicked. "I'm here. . ."

Topknot gave no response that he heard her.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Chiva:** trial

-**h'dui'se:** scent/smell

-**dai-shui: **musk

-**kiande amedha: **hard meat(xenomorph)

-**ooman**: human

-**thwei**: blood

-**M-di**: no

-**dhi'ki**: coma/unconscious

-**kehrite:** dojo/training room

-**mei'hswei**: brother

-**Sei-i**: yes

-**Bhu'ja Jehdin**: Spirit Spar (Their equivalent of a soul mate. It means 'the one who will fight life by my side.')

-** z'skvy-de**: chest burster

_Here's another chapter for you!_

_Sorry if you were expecting an actual Lemon scene between Helena and Dachande. Nope! I don't do lemon scenes. Personal reasons why.  
But I can do heavy limes. Wink wink._

_Anyway, I'll see you all in the next chapter. Bye!_


	26. Chapter23 In Which They Reveal

Helena stayed by Topknot's side all through the night.

The entire time her hand had been in his, which he kept held up to his mouth in his sleep. His mandibles were still wrapped around her wrist, and she was afraid of trying to untangle them in case she accidentally broke them in the process. The head healer had thankfully brought her breakfast in the morning, as per Dachande's orders. When the healer saw that she hadn't added more restraints to Topknot, even took off his previous ones, he grew both confused and impressed. A very odd combination to feel. The healer soon left and Helena was soon faced with another issue.

She had to go to the bathroom.

Looking down at her hand still clutched in Topknot's grip, Helena realized she'd have to carefully untangle her hand from all of his appendages attached to her. Pressing her bottom mandibles over her top ones tightly, Helena reached down with her other hand and gently tried to first pry his mandibles away.  
She soon realized his mandibles had a grip like a newborn baby's. Surprisingly tight for their slender size. They wouldn't come off unless Helena applied a firmer grip to them. Clenching her mandibles even tighter, Helena worked until she got all of them loose.

As soon as the last mandible came off, a whining noise came out of Topknot's throat.

Helena's heart gave a lurch as she was suddenly and viciously gripped with the urge to reach out and pull Topknot closer to her protectively. She gasped at the sudden sensation, confused by what caused it.  
Shaking her head out of her thoughts, Helena then worked to undo his fingers. With each one that came off, Topknot made that high pitched whining sound again. Each time, Helena's heart would give a painful thump and the urge to cuddle Topknot and protect him in her arms grew. Only her angry bladder kept her focused enough not to give into those urges.

When she finally got her whole hand free, Topknot let out a really long, mournful whining sound and Helena had to run from the room to keep from giving into the desire to hold him. Her immediate instincts told her that he was hurt and needed comfort. In her mind, Topknot became a child that needed coddling to feel better.

When she got to the bathroom, she tried to think of why she was suddenly feeling this way.

* * *

A half hour later from mostly sitting on the toilet and thinking, Helena came back to Topknot's room to find him sitting up against his pillows in bed and staring off into space.

She gasped at the shocking sight and Topknot slowly turned his head to look at her.

Helena took one look at his eyes and again had to fight not to go hug him. They held a look she has seen plenty of times before. Whenever she had to tell patients some bad news, injuries they would never recover from, their eyes got the same look.  
Hopeless. His eyes looked mournfully empty and devoid of hope.

Helena took one step further into the room and paused to note that he didn't react at all. Her lower mandibles drooped into a frown and she subconsciously tilted her head slightly at him. "Topknot?" She softly clicked his name. Her frown deepened as she watched him actually flinch at the sound of her voice. Helena took a couple more steps forward and Topknot diverted his eyes to the ground, as if he was scared to see her. Helena grew more concerned as she continued to approach him. "Topknot?" She called again. He flinched again and kept his head down, but this time he did reply. "Yeyinda. . .I. . ." Helena stopped by the bed and waited for him to speak. He finally looked up at her and she saw that his eyes still had that look of hopelessness and sorrow. "I. . .I. . .I don't-" He struggled with what to say. Frown deepening, Helena adjusted her stance to sit on the side of his bed. Reaching out, she debated on holding his hand for a moment before just deciding to do it anyway.

Vk'leita jumped at the sudden skin-to-skin contact with his hand, and looked down with a thudding heart to find that Yeyinda had intertwined their fingers. He looked up to see her frowning at him. "**Sei-i**," She softly clicked knowingly at him. "we need to talk."

A cold fear settled in his chest at the possibility of what she was about to say, but he nodded at her. "We do." He softly agreed, though he couldn't help but notice how weak his voice sounded.

Helena shifted on his bed to face him better and took a seep breath. "I met your **mei'hswei**." She informed him. Topknot tilted his head at her curiously and so she continued. "He informed me that I'm your soul mate. . .or something similar to that. A bhu'ja jandin, or-" "A **buh'ja jehdin**. . ." Topknot softly finished for her. Helena looked up at him and nodded. "_Sei-i_, that. Listen, I'm. . .I'm not. . .I don't-" "I understand if you don't want me." Topknot suddenly interrupted. Helena cocked her head at him as Topknot awkwardly shifted and looked away from her, but his tone gave away what he was feeling. The same emotion she saw in his eyes carried over in his voice. Hopeless. "I understand if. . .if you'll never forgive me. I understand if you choose Dachande over me. What I did, what I've done, I. . .I am beyond ashamed of myself and I. . .I. . ." Helena heard his voice crack on his next words and it tugged at her heart. Topknot looked up at her with watery eyes that were on the verge of releasing tears. "I'm sorry," He finally gasped, looking back down at the bed again. "I'm sorry for everything I've done! I'm sorry for every wrong action I've taken towards you! I'm sorry for hurting you, for turning the clan against you, for snapping at you every time you tried to help. I am so, so, so sorry!" He hunched over once finished and his body shook so violently, Helena knew he was holding in his sobs. His scent carried so much regret that even Helena's inexperienced scent glands couldn't mistake it for anything else. The depth of the emotion stunned her. She wasn't aware that these creatures were capable of feeling that deeply!

She probably should have. They were beings capable of higher thinking than base animals, after all. . .emotions are no exceptions to the package.

Hesitantly, Helena began to reach towards Topknot. She wasn't used to seeing him cry, and it was making her uncomfortable. She never did like seeing anyone cry.  
Placing a gentle palm on his shoulder, Helena decided now wasn't the time to allow herself to be awkward around him. She started to gently rub circles around his shoulders in a soothing manner, making quiet shushing noises under her breath like she would towards a human child. To her surprise, it began to work. Topknot slowly started to calm down from his breakdown under her soothing touch and Helena scooted closer to him, allowing their thighs to rub against each other through the blanket. "Topknot," She began by softly clicking his name. "I wasn't going to reject you." She admitted, pressing gently on his shoulder to turn him towards her more. As soon as the words left her mouth however, his head whipped up and he stared at her with open shock. Helena awkwardly cleared her throat and continued. "I just. . . I was just going to say that I needed time to think about it." Some of the hope that he had just regained in his eyes drained a little again, so she continued to explain. "Look, humans don't have. . ._bhu'ja jehdins_. We don't have Gods picking our partners for us. In fact, most of our gods give us the silent treatment and don't really have a hand in our lives. . .I just need time to wrap my head around all of this. . .to sit down and think for a moment. I need to give myself time to come to terms with all that I just learned today." She took a breath and ended her explanation. "I'm not rejecting. . .I'm just. . .trying to make sense of all of this before jumping into anything. Does that make sense?"

Vk'leita frowned at her and also took a moment to think of his reply before saying anything. "Does. . .does this mean I have a chance?" He quietly clicked, not daring to give himself any hope.  
Yeyinda reached out and grasped his other hand and his heart did the sudden spasming motion again as he looked at their intertwined fingers. He looked up at her and was shocked to find her eyes warm and focused on him. "_Sei-i_," She squeezed his hands. "_sei-i_, you have a chance."

Vk'leita couldn't help it. He lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his head in her neck and shaking as relief overcame him like he had never felt before. A gasp of surprise left Yeyinda's mouth as well before she straitened up and returned the hug to him. Vk'leita couldn't help but hold her as tightly as possible as he let his emotions roll through him.

He had a chance. He had a _chance_!

They held each other like that for a long time. Helena kept her hold on him steady as waves of his scent hit her glands. The mixed emotions were throwing her for a loop. Topknot seemed to be feeling almost every emotion possible at once! It was causing him to still shake in her arms.  
Despite the dizzying feeling she was getting from his scent, she let him ride it out. He needed to feel everything before he could decide what to do next.

When he finally calmed down, Helena moved one hand around to gently rub his back as the next question she wanted to ask him sprang from her mouth.

"While we're here," She began, sitting up and away from him so she could see his face. "what was that you said about Dachande?" Helena watched his eyes widen before they turned sad again. His mandibles drooped into a frown and it caused Helena's to do the same. "I," He began to say, hesitating. "I know you and Da'dtou-di had a relationship with Dachande before you arrived here. . ." Helena cocked her head at Topknot curiously as he continued. "I thought that because of that. . .you'd choose him over. . .over me. . ." He turned his head away again as he said this. Helena blinked in surprise before nudging him with her thigh. "Topknot, what relationship do you think I had with Dachande?" She asked curiously. Topknot finally turned his head back towards her, mandibles drooping even further. "A. . .a very intimate one." He quietly replied, looking away. Helena gapped at him before viciously shaking her head. "Wait, wait, wait!" She said rapidly, motioning with her hands as well.

"Topknot, do you think Da'dtou-di and I had sex with Dachande?!"

She watched Topknot flinch at her tone, and his silence answered her. Helena gave a slightly aggravated sigh before sitting up a little straighter. "Topknot." She called his name calmly so he'd look at her. When he finally turned his head, she continued. "What made you think that Dachande and I had sex?" She calmly asked, trying to appear professional.

What he said next stunned her.

"Well. . .you and Da'dtou-di were with him on a hunt, and. . .all three of you were laying together, and Dachande said-" Topknot then went on to explain the events he, and apparently Shorty, had witnessed on a previous planet. Helena had to clench her teeth not to gap at him the entire time. It sounded outrageous to her, but at the same time, she could see where Topknot was coming from.  
From his point of view, it definitely sounded like she had a flaunt with Dachande.

Shaking her head once Topknot was finished talking, Helena let out another sigh and smoothed her dreads back against her head like she would if she still had her hair. "Topknot," She shook her head again. "neither I nor Da'dtou-di had sex with him," She paused to think. "at least, I'm pretty sure Da'dtou-di hasn't either. Can't vouch for her completely." She admitted. She grew amused at the gapping look Topknot was sending her, and even let out a giggle at the sight. At the sound of her laughter, he shook himself out of his daze. "Then what did Dachande mean by 'before'?" He asked.

He watched Yeyinda giggle again before replying.

"Topknot," She said. Vk'leita decided that he liked the nickname when she said it. "look, humans have something that yautja don't, and that's body heat. Our bodies naturally produce our own heat to keep us warm." She made a gesture like she was pointing at something behind her. "Back on Ryushi when Dachande's ship blew up, it burnt his netting that you all wear. He couldn't control his internal temperature anymore." She leaned back on the bed, a little more relaxed. "When winter on Ryushi came around, he nearly froze to death. Even with all of the blankest we gave him, it wasn't enough to trap his heat in for him." She rose a hand and gestured at herself now. "So Da'dtou-di and I decided to sleep in his bed to keep him warm." Vk'leita realized that he must have been pulling a face at her, because she shook her head at him. "**M-di**, we didn't have sex with him. We'd just lie next to him and the blankets would trap our combined heat in with him. Of course we grew closer because of this," She shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. "but that was it. We're just good friends."

Vk'leita took a moment to process all of what she told him.

Yeyinda never slept with Dachande, so that means. . .his future with her wasn't completely gone after all! It wasn't lost long before they met like he thought it was!  
This fact alone made him happy beyond belief, but when he looked at Yeyinda, he saw that while she was smiling, her eyes looked a little sad and distant. Vk'leita made curious clicking sounds at her in response. Yeyinda pinched her lower mandibles together before speaking. "I," She stopped in hesitation before continuing. "I should say though, that. . .I used to have a mate. . .long ago." Vk'leita paused and stared at her as this time, she turned her head away from him to look elsewhere.

"It was a human mate, and it was long before I met Dachande or any of you." She looked back up at him and frowned. "I also had a. . .you call them pups, I think. I had a son with that mate."

Vk'leita once again took a moment to process this.  
He couldn't lie. Disappointment was an understatement. He was beyond saddened that he wouldn't be her first mate, and that their future pups wouldn't be her only pups.  
But when he looked back up at her face. . .those feelings quickly retreated at the look in her eyes. Sorrow like he had never seen before was there, and that's when Vk'leita realized that something truly terrible must have happened to that mate and pup. Cautiously, Vk'leita opened his mandibles to speak. "Yeyinda," He spoke as softly as possible. "what happened. . .to your mate and pup?" He asked.

He watched as a quiet breath left her body and she seemed to just deflate on him there.

"I. . .I was in the middle of getting a divorce with that mate when a drunk driver crashed their. . .vessel. . .into my mate's. It killed both my son and him." Vk'leita watched her fold her arms around herself and grip the sides of her biceps tightly. Hesitantly, Vk'leita lifted a hand and reached out to her. He placed the pads of his fingers on the wrist of one arm and Yeyinda looked up at him with a frown. Vk'leita frowned back and didn't know what else to do to comfort her. Instead, he asked a question that was on his mind. "What's a. . .divorce?" He struggled to say the foreign word. Yeyinda leaned her other hand up and placed it over his. "Well," She began to say, clearing her throat. "it's. . .in human culture, mates are usually sealed together by a process called marriage. I don't know if you have that." "We do." Vk'leita confirmed with a nod, happy that he actually knew something she was talking about. "Though it's not as. . .celebratory as the **oomans** do it." He admitted. Vk'leita grew happy when he saw Yeyinda lightly smile at him. "Well that's good." She chuckled softly. "Then this will make more sense. . .a divorce is when two mates terminate that marriage. . .they go through this whole process of separating from each other and declaring that they will no longer be mates to the other. . .does that make sense?" She asked.

"_Sei-i._" Vk'leita replied, though he admittedly didn't like the idea of it.

Yeyinda nodded at him and continued. "Well. . .I was getting a divorce from that mate. Because of the long process it takes, we ended up living separately. My pup would live between the two of us. He on some days, I on others." She took a breath and tilted her head down at the mattress to frown. "On one of the days my pup was to live with me, my mate was delivering him in his vessel when another vessel collided with them." Her scent warned Vk'leita that she was on the verge of crying, and so he reached over and placed his hand in hers with a gentle hold. When he felt her squeeze his hand, her scent became a little calmer and she looked up at him finally. "The crash killed my pup. . .and my mate." She finally clicked, letting her hand go limp in his.

Vk'leita frowned at her, not knowing what to do to comfort her.

Instead, his curiosity about her life left him with more questions. He gently squeezed her hand to get her attention, and when she looked up at him, he quietly clicked at her. "Yeyinda. . .why were you getting a. . .divorce. . .with your mate?" He asked. It quite frankly scared him with the notion that Yeyinda could one day up and leave him if she felt she wasn't happy. He didn't want to make the same mistakes that her old mate had.

Helena sighed and sat up straighter, looking thoughtful before she answered.

"I never loved him." She finally replied. Topknot cocked his head at her, so she went on to elaborate. "I never loved him or truly cared about him. Our marriage was arranged. . .through my own dumb mistakes." She looked at the bed in shame. She felt Topknot squeeze her hand, so she looked up at him as he eyed her curiously. "I do not understand." He admitted. Helena shifted on the bed and rested her thigh against his. "Remember how I said human gods have nearly no hand in their lives?" She asked. Topknot nodded, she went on to explain. "My parents were devout believers to our god. So much so, that they allowed no one else into their lives who didn't share the same beliefs. If you dared to appose them, they would have no more interaction with you. It was. . .suffocating, living with them. I was forced to do as they said and had little control over my own decisions." Helena pressed her mandibles together before continuing.

"So because of this, I rebelled against them." She admitted.

"I led a life behind their backs as much as possible. I'd go over to friend's houses just so I could be free and do what I wanted without them judging or controlling my actions. . .and one of those decisions ended up being me having sex with a boy when I was fifteen." At Topknot's gapping expression, Helena frowned. "I'm guessing teenagers having sex isn't as common amongst yautja as it is amongst humans." Topknot nodded at her and made vague gestures with his hands. "Our women are raised in such a way that they would only settle for the best of us." He explained. "They will not choose a mate until they've seen the strength and accomplishments of a male. They will not settle for a subpar partner. It's our belief that only the best should continue their lines, and to pick a partner worth any less would put the pups at a high risk of failure." Topknot frowned at her as he lowered his hands. "Is it not the same belief amongst _oomans_?" He asked. Helena felt herself smiling before shaking her head. "Maybe to some humans," She admitted. "but most of us just like to have sex." She shrugged. "It's a massive pleasure for us."

Vk'leita tilted his head at her. Mating was an extreme pleasure for yautja as well, but not so much that he would go out to random strangers for their bodies. Their women certainly wouldn't put up with that lifestyle.

Yeyinda shook her head at him like she was pulled from her thoughts. "Anyway," She continued on. "I ended up getting pregnant in my first try." Vk'leita stared at her and accidentally imagined her pregnant at 15. This led to him seeing a 15 year old yautja female pregnant in his mind, which give him a sick feeling. Children shouldn't be pregnant when they weren't even done growing.

Helena continued on, ignoring Topknot's horrified expression to her confession. He wasn't the first one she had shocked with this tale. He wouldn't be the last.

"My parents found out I was pregnant. So they gave me an option." She scowled as she thought about it. "Either marry the boy or be kicked out of the house to fend for myself." She looked up to see Topknot openly gapping at her in shock. "They would do that to you?!" He exclaimed. Helena nodded, but didn't bother to explain that it was due to their religious beliefs. Topknot frowned at her and Helena felt him gently squeezing her hand. "So. . .you married the boy. . .at 15?" He clicked, finding it hard to even imagine, much less believe. Helena mutely nodded her head and squeezed his hand back. "_Sei-i_. . .and I lived to regret it much afterwards." She admitted. Topknot frowned at her, so she went on to explain. "He was abusive." She stated. "He had helped support me financially while I was going to train to be a healer. He held this fact over my head all the time and claimed I owed him because of it. If I didn't do what he demanded, he'd tell me how I was a waste of his time and he should have never even let me go to school to learn to heal. . .it was horrible." Helena looked down at the bed as the bad memories flooded her thoughts. Helena felt her hand begin to move and looked up to find Topknot holding her palm in both of his. He was frowning at her and Helena was touched by the concern in his eyes. "Yeyinda," He clicked her name. "I. . .I know this will make me a hypocrite to ask, but. . .he didn't hit you, did he?"

Yeyinda immediately shook her head and Vk'leita subconsciously let out a breath of relief.

"_M-di_, he didn't hit. Despite his tactics, I still scared him." She smirked to herself. "Being one of the tallest females has its perks." She shook her head and then squeezed both of his hands in hers. "I stayed too long with him."

Topknot frowned at her and slowly lifted her hand so it was pressed against his closed mandibles. A shiver went down Helena's back without her conscious thought of it. "Yeyinda," He clicked, moving his mandibles over her hand gently. "I promise not to be him." He started. Helena stared at him in shock as he continued. "I promise not to harm you or use you. I promise I won't hold anything against you and I won't hold you back from becoming a healer. I promise. . .not to repeat the mistakes I've made." He pressed her hand firmly against his mandibles and closed his eyes as he spoke. "I promise to care for you and provide for you. Most of all, I promise not to be the yautja I was before. . .I promise I won't be like your last mate and I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure you see the best of me every day." Topknot looked up at her, and Helena could tell from his eyes that he was begging her to trust him.

Heart fluttering at his promise, Helena's mandibles lifted into a soft smile. She took her hand out of his and used it to cup the side of his face that would normally be a cheek on a human. To Topknot's surprise, Helena leaned forward and touched her forehead to his. "Topknot," She quietly clicked his name. "I believe you will."

Vk'leita couldn't help it. His mandibles gapped at her. This beautiful woman not only forgave him of his terrible mistakes, but believed him when he said he'd do better.  
Forgiveness was a concept most yautja didn't live by. . .and yet here she was.

Helena watched as Topknot cleared his throat and pressed his forehead against hers again. "Vk'leita." He clicked. Helena rose an eyebrow at him and he responded with a gentle purring noise. "My name is Vk'leita. . .I'm sorry I never told you that from the start."

Vk'leita jumped as he felt Yeyinda's arms wrap around him and pull him in for a hug. "Mine is Helena." She clicked at him. "I should have told you from the start as well."

Vk'leita didn't think there was a time he had ever been happier in his life then right there in her arms.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Sei-i**: yes

-**Mei'hswei**: brother

-**Bhu'ja jehdin**: Spirit spar (their equivalent of a 'soul mate'. It means 'The one who will fight life by my side'.)

-**M-di**: no

-**ooman**: human

_So first off, thank you all for reading!_

_Second off, if you're wondering why Topknot didn't tell Helena that he loved her in this scene, there's a reason for that.  
Third, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you thought in reviews or comments, depending on what site you're reading this from.  
Anyway, enjoy!_


	27. Chapter24 In Which Cluck's Gone

Machiko stared at Topknot's brother as he entered the room and stared back at her. "Are you Da'dtou-di?" He awkwardly asked.

Machiko cocked her head at him and rose an eyebrow suspiciously at his question. "Why do you ask?" She countered. The yautja cleared his throat, a motion that had a much deeper sound amongst his kind, and replied. "Yeyinda said I should come talk to you after I was done talking to her. Apparently, you are a ****bhuja jehdin**** to someone as well?" Machiko clicked her mandibles once before motioning with her head towards Shorty behind her. "****Sei-i****, his apparently."

Shi-karne took one look at the unconscious yautja male and curled his top mandibles back in disgust, much like a human would wrinkle their nose. The pup was clearly deformed, being no where near the height of most yautja his age.

Looking back at Da'dtou-di, Shi-karne wondered why ****Paya**** found this deformed pup to be worthy of carrying on his line with a woman of this high breeding. Her beauty clearly showed that her pups would be given good physical traits. Such a shame those pups would have their futures impaired by the bloodline of their father. One could only hope they wouldn't have the deformity of their father and would look more like their mother in the end.

Oh well. Such was the mystery of a God's choices.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Shi-karne looked at Da'dtou-di with a frown. "Yeyinda asked me to explain what _bhuja jehdins_ are to you." He said. Da'dtou-di rose an eyebrow at him. "I've already been told it's a soul mate." She declared. "What else is there to explain?" Shi-karne shook his head before drooping his lower mandibles at her. "You and her keep using that phrase." He replied. "I do not know what it means amongst your kind."

Machiko's stance became more relaxed as she leaned against Shorty's bed and folded her arms. "It's kind of exactly what it sounds like. Two souls destined to be together by some mystical force or another." Machiko tapped her talons against the side of her arm as she spoke. "It's a popular theme in romance stories amongst humans."

The male yautja tilted his head at her as she spoke. "You and Yeyinda both sound like you don't enjoy the concept of a . . .soul mate." He pointed out.

Machiko tapped her toes on the ground before speaking. "Well. . .let me see if I can explain. In our cultures, soul mates are often described as magically having strong feelings towards each other as soon as they meet. We don't really believe in soul mates because of that." "Why? I don't see how that could be a problem." He clicked, genuinely curious. Machiko rose her hand and gestured at him. "The problem is that the feelings are created by magic. Not through genuine interactions, not through hard work to earn the others affections, and not through all of the natural ways feelings are supposed to be made. Through magic, it just feels. . .fake." She lowered her hand and scratched her clawed toe on the ground. "It feels cheap and forced. Through no effort on their own, these two persons suddenly love and care for each other though they hardly know each other. They don't even get the choice to decide if they wanted to pursue the other or not. They're forced to be together and to feel together all because magic made them care for the other. It just feels. . .wrong." Machiko clicked awkwardly and then shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Does that make sense?"

The male looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "So. . .you ****oomans**** think. . .soul mates are forced to be together?" He carefully asked.

Machiko didn't really know how to react to that, so instead, she shook her head. "We don't even think soul mates exist." She explained. "It's just a concept we often throw around when making up stories for entertainment. The forced pairing is just how soul mates are often described." The male, who's name she still hadn't asked for, took on a thoughtful look for several seconds before replying.

"In our culture, it is not called 'soul mates'. . . .it's called 'Spirit Spar'. It does not mean to us what it does to you. To us, it means. . .well, we say 'The one who will fight life by my side'. It is a way of acknowledging that we are partners brought together to achieve the same goals."

Machiko cocked her heat at him curiously, and he continued on. "I don't know all of the details that surround your version of our. . .soul mates, but I can tell you this. Ours aren't forced." He took a bolder stance as he directed his words at her. "Both partners are free to reject the other and our God's choice. They are free to willingly walk away from their partners and destiny. . .but no one ever has." Machiko rose an eyebrow at him. "How come?" She asked. Now the male tilted his head at her like he couldn't understand what she just asked. "Who would reject a blessing like that?" He asked, forgetting her situation for a moment. "An all-knowing God blatantly tells you that a specific someone will be perfect for you. That your pups will grow to be some of the strongest in history if you mate with a specific yautja. Who wouldn't want that for themselves? Who wouldn't want the best possible chances for their lines to continue?"

Machiko frowned at him while scratching her toe on the ground in irritation. "It still sounds like they're being forced." She quietly clicked.

The male shook his head before replying. "****M-di****, it is not forced. Though our God may have shown you who your mate is, you both will still have to work together to make the pairing work. A pairing made by a God demands the best efforts of both persons. It is not a task to take lightly, just because you're told the blessings of what will happen if you do decide to accept that partner. It still requires you both to be your best for each other's sakes." He paused and tilted his head at her. "That is, if you do choose him." He straitened his head back up. "What do you choose?"

Machiko was silent for a long while, starring off into nothing as she thought about her answer. What did she choose? . . .

"I-" She stopped and thought once more before continuing. "I choose to wait." She finally answered. The male tilted his head at her again and she gestured at Shorty behind her. "I have not fully forgiven him for what he has done." She declared. "I am not angry with him about it anymore, but I. . . .I need time to come to terms with this soul mate business. I need to decide if I can forgive him and accept him or not." She gestured at Shorty again before looking at the stranger. "Does that make sense?" She asked.

"_Sei-i,_" He replied, clicking with a slight tone of amusement. "Though I must admit, I feel you _oomans_ make things far more complicated than they need to be." At this, Machiko couldn't help but smile.

"I know we do."

* * *

"You should be well enough to walk now." The head healer declared as he finished up inspecting Vk'leita's injury.

Vk'leita nodded and made an attempt to stand, his mostly healed over chest giving a throb of protest as the new flesh stretched over his muscles. Yeyind-no, Helena kept her hand on his back to help steady him. The contact caused his heart to thud faster, and he was sure she could at least feel the increase in speed. She made no comment about it, however, and this brought some relief to Vk'leita. The head healer had made it a point to tease him about his mate already. He didn't need to give the yautja more fuel to work with.

"How do you feel?" The healer asked.

Helena hovered nearby him, a look of concern in her eyes. Her stance told him that she was prepared to catch him if he so much as stumbled. He wanted to take her into his arms and assure her that he was alright, but at the moment it was the head healer he had to convince that he was fine. Turning to said healer, Vk'leita purposefully flexed his arms to the side and back, causing his chest to flex as well. "I feel fine." He declared, happy that the new flesh didn't break at the seams. "Good," The head healer nodded in approval before turning around to look at something. "though you're still banned from doing your normal exercises until I say so." At Vk'leita's flat look, the healer crossed his arms and scowled. "Don't make me have your _bhuja jehdin_ restrain you."

Vk'leita was about to retort that Helena would probably let him fight the healer for being a pest when he felt her hand on his shoulder. Looking up, one glance told him that she was still worried. "I agree with him Vk'leita." She declared. "You did take a heavy hit from the Queen. I don't want to have to run you back here again."

Vk'leita stilled at this fact. Helena was the one who carried his body here?  
For some reason, that fact thrilled him.

But then the full meaning of her words hit him and he couldn't help the sense of betrayal he felt. "Yeyinda!" He unintentionally whined her name. They had both agreed to use their yautjan names while in the company of others. 'Topknot' and 'Helena' would be only for their private use.  
Helena shook her head and took a firmer stance in front of him. "Vk'leita, let your body fully heal first. Please." She begged. Vk'leita deflated under her stare and huffed at her. "Fine." He grumbled, clicking his tusks in irritation.  
The head healer was trying very hard not to click in great amusement as he watched the two of them. Never in his life would he have ever guessed that he'd see this more subdued side of their ship's second in command. Such behavior was almost unheard of in a leader. Yet it seemed this male had no desire to stand up and challenge his female. Not for a matter like this, anyway.

"Yeyinda," The head healer suddenly called her name. The female looked over at him curiously as he addressed her. "I suggest he stay with you during his recovery." At Vk'leita's withering look, the healer smirked. "I trust you to restrain him if he acts rebellious." He gave Vk'leita a pointed look while still addressing the female. Yeyinda gave out a grunt of acknowledgement before reaching down and grasping Vk'leita's hand, effectively silencing him and any childish protests he might have been about to throw out at the healer. "Come on." Yeyinda clicked, smiling at his stunned gaze. "I've got to go check on Cluck anyway."

"Cluck?" Vk'leita clicked curiously as he followed behind her and out the door. Helena still held his hand as she guided them through the hallways and down to her room. "My chicken." She clicked back to him. "The bird you've seen in my room." "Is that what it's called?" Vk'leita asked as he picked up his pace to keep up with her longer strides. Helena nodded and paused before her door.

"I'm such a bad pet owner." She declared while unlocking her door, confusing Vk'leita in the process. "I've left her alone for several days without checking up on her-" Helena abruptly stopped as she stared at the scene that appeared as soon as her door was opened.

Her room was completely trashed with a fully grown** kiande amedha** standing in the middle of it. The black beast let out a roar from being disturbed and then charged at her. Helena froze on the spot out of shock, but then was abruptly shoved aside just as the bug reached her. Helena didn't see what happened, but she heard a sudden pained squeal come from the bug before a hard thump sounded out. Helena looked back over to see Topknot standing over the fallen beast, both of his wrist gauntlet blades out and covered in the thing's blood. Helena was breathing hard and fast and Topknot gave her a concerned look before sheathing the blades and helping her up. "Are you alright?" He asked.

Vk'leita watched as Helena shot up straight with a look of horror on her face. "Cluck!" She shouted, before turning on her heal and running into her room. Vk'leita chased after her, worried that more _kiande amedha_ would be in there waiting for her. Instead, he found her standing by the impromptu cage that served as her bird's abode. Her bird's corpse lay outside of the cage, bloody and busted open from the chest.

Cluck was dead.

* * *

**Author's note: Translation time!**

-**bhuja jehdin**: Spirit spar (Their version of a soul mate. It means 'The one who will fight life by my side'.)

-**Sei-i**: Yes

-**Paya**: Their Thunder God.

-**oomans**: Humans

-**M-di**: No

-**Kiande Amedha**: Hard meat (xenomorphs).

_I am SORRY this is late!  
Work tires me fairly easily (not in a stressful type of way, thankfully. Just physical exhaustion). Add to the fact that it's the holiday season and there's so much to do and **OH MY PAYA, WHO DECIDED TO PILE ALL OF THE HOLIDAYS AT THE END OF THE YEAR?! **Seriously, my paycheck can only stretch so far to contribute to any of them! (It's also partially why this chapter is so short. Sorry about that.)_

_Anyways, I will hopefully have a Christmas special up for you all next time. And hopefully it will come sooner than this one did. I make no promises though._

_Anyway, thank you all for reading. I hope you all have a fun holiday season!_

_Bye!_


	28. Chapter24 In Which a Christmas Special

Vk'leita and Lar'nix'va were pacing back and forth around the yautja version of a living room.

Their mates were laying on the floor, unconscious, and settled amongst heavy blankets and two mats that served as padding against the ground. Just a few weeks ago, the Witch had reappeared and turned them back into humans. Neither of the two yautja knew why. She gave no explanation for it and disappeared before they could demand one from her.

From the shadows of a long hallway, a gaggle of kids, or 'pups', as their parents liked to call them, watched with worry as their fathers paced around their inert mothers.

One of the youngest pups, Machiko's daughter, clicked her mandibles in worry. "Are we not going to have Christmas?" She asked her siblings and friends.

One of the older males, Helena's son, grunted at the girl, but didn't answer.

Christmas was an ****ooman**** tradition that their mothers had introduced to the first litter of pups they had. They had explained, to the best of their abilities, how it came about and why it was widely celebrated amongst their kind. Vk'leita and Lar'nix'va, the fathers of the two gangs of pups, had found it strange at first, but quickly learned to accept it. Especially when they saw how happy it made their mothers (and consequently, how happy it made the kids to receive gifts as well). Since then, the two families have celebrated the holiday every year, despite the weird looks it sometimes got them from the other yautja.

This year was different, however.  
This year, the Witch returned and turned their mothers back into their _ooman_ selves.

And now their mothers were sick and passed out in the main room of the house.

The pups watched how agitated their fathers had become when this happened. Yautja rarely got sick, thanks to their advanced immune systems, and fewer still knew how to treat sick yautja, because it was just that uncommon. Add to the fact that their mothers were _ooman_ again and you were just asking for trouble.

Vk'leita paced around his unconscious wife before finally plopping down by her side and shifting her head so it rested on his thigh. He stroked his hands through her strands of hair and momentarily marveled at how soft it was.  
He needed her to wake up. She was the healer in their family. She was even specialized to treat humans! Only she would know what to do about herself and Da'dtou-di's sickness. Vk'leita watched out of the corner of his eye as Lar'nix'va finally sat down as well and just took Da'dtou-di's hand in his and pressed it to his mandibles.

Vk'leita felt a tiny clawed hand rest on his shoulder and he turned his head to find his youngest daughter staring at him intently. "Daddy," She softly clicked, a human term she had picked up from her mother and he had come to adore his children when they called him that. "is mommy going to wake up?" Vk'leita frowned at her with his lower mandibles and reached a hand out. Gently, he grasped his daughter's waist and picked her up. He settled her on his lap, on the opposite thigh from where his wife's head lay. "****Sei-i****," He lied, wrapping an arm around her. "She will. She just needs to rest." He had no idea if she'd actually wake up or not, and that fact scared him.

Slowly, the rest of the kids came out of the hallway that they had been hiding in. The pups divided themselves up and surrounded their respective parents on the floor.

"What's wrong with mom?" Lar'nix'va's oldest asked him. Lar'nix'va turned his head towards his son and frowned. "We're not sure." He admitted. "She said she just wanted to take a nap, but it's been four hours." His oldest daughter pointed out. Lar'nix'va nodded at her in acknowledgement. "I know. . . but our healers won't be able to help them." "Because they're _ooman_ now?" His oldest son asked again. Lar'nix'va nodded at him. "_Sei-i_. Their bodies are different now. Our medicines might not work on them."  
Lar'nix'va felt a small head try to squeeze its way under his arm and looked down to find his youngest son trying to cuddle up to him. Lifting his arm, Lar'nix'va let his son hug his side before placing the arm back down around the pup's shoulders and giving him a gentle squeeze. His son reached out and placed a hand on his mother's forehead in return. "Why does she feel hot?" He asked.  
Alarmed, Lar'nix'va placed a hand to her forehead as well and found that, _sei-i_, she was warmer than usual.

Looking over at Vk'leita, Lar'nix'va found him checking his mate's forehead as well. From the look on his face, she was warming up as well.

Clamping his mandibles together, Vk'leita looked at his pups, who were giving him worried looks. He had to get them out of the room and away from their mother, or else their worry would grow. Looking away from them, an idea slowly came to mind, finally causing him to look back at them. "I think I know what would wake your mother up." He said. His children looked at him curiously as he tilted his head in the direction of the 'kitchen'. "Do you remember that soup your mother likes to eat?" A couple of his children gave him blank looks, but then one of the middle children perked up. "The one with chicken in it?" "_Sei-i_." Vk'leita replied, relieved to find that his kids now knew what he was talking about. "Why don't you all go make that for her. I think the smell could wake her up." His children perked up and immediately stood. They ran to the kitchen, racing each other to see who would get there first.

Vk'leita looked over to find Lar'nix'va and his kids awkwardly staring at him. Vk'leita gestured with his head at the kitchen again. "They can do the same if you want them too. Use whatever you want in there."

Lar'nix'va looked back at his kids and clicked his mandibles to get their attention. "You remember what your mother likes?" He asked. The son he had tucked under his arm shifted his head to look at him. "That fish and rice stuff she's always eating." "_Sei-i_. She called it sushi. I want you all to run back to the house and grab the stuff to make it for her." "We will!" Lar'nix'va's oldest daughter stood and ran to the door. Her younger siblings followed, racing as fast as they could to get the things they needed and be back as soon as possible.

Now with the pups gone, Lar'nix'va and Vk'leita shared worried looks.

Their mate's foreheads were still getting hot.

* * *

"You're supposed to cut up the chicken before putting it in!" Vk'leita's oldest son snapped at one of the younger ones. The younger son growled at him threateningly. "Mom said it didn't matter!" He snapped back. "You can cut it afterwards!" "Mom always did it before!"

"Will you two shut it?!" The oldest daughter growled. Despite being younger than her oldest brother, she was already beginning to tower over both of them in height. A fact she regularly used to her advantage. "Don't fight when dad can hear you." "Too late!" Vk'leita called out from the main room of the house, scorn clear in his voice. "Don't make me come in there to separate you all." He threatened. The boys immediately shut up as more of their younger siblings came over, carrying cut up veggies that their mother normally put in the soup. "Is this good?" The youngest daughter asked the oldest son as she showed him her work. The oldest looked down at her cut up carrots and nodded. "_Sei-i_, put them in." He directed.

Their clamor was interrupted by the sound of more pups coming into the kitchen.

"Mind if we use a counter?" Lar'nix'va's oldest son, who was also best friends with Vk'leita's oldest son, asked. Vk'leita's son nodded and pointed at the counter. "Knives are up in on the top shelf. Bowls are on the bottom ones." "Thanks." Lar'nix'va's son slightly bowed his head as he and his siblings moved over to the counter to make their own mother's food.

The kitchen came alive with smells and sounds soon after, and several of the younger pups found that they weren't really needed anymore.

Vk'lieta's youngest daughter snuck out of the kitchen while the older kids worked and peeked out into the main room. She saw her father and Lar'nix'va speaking to each other quietly, but then she saw something else that made her squeal. "Mommy is awake!" She shouted, running forward.

Vk'leita and Lar'nix'va whipped their heads in her direction as they saw the girl barrel towards Helena. "Mommy!" She shouted, jumping towards her mother.

Vk'leita's mandibles opened in shock as Helena's arms opened up to receive her daughter's embrace. "Hey sweety." She softly cooed. Her voice was weak and sounded strange from her normal tone, but she was awake, and that's what mattered.  
Vk'leita looked down at Helena's head in his lap to see her eyes barely open up. She tilted her head back to look up at him through half-lidded eyes and she smiled at him. "Hello my handsome beast." She softly said as her daughter cuddled her from her spot on the floor. Vk'leita let out a sound of relief as he leaned his head down and gently rubbed his forehead with hers. Helena chuckled and reached up with one hand to rub the side of his face. "What'd I miss?" She asked.

Vk'leita was beyond grateful that the Witch at least allowed them to still understand each other when they spoke.

He rubbed his forehead with hers again. "You and Da'dtou-di are sick." He clicked at her. "You both came in this room to sleep on the floor together." "That explains some things." Helena replied as she began to sit up.  
Vk'leita peered up to find all of the pups peering at them from beyond the walls of the kitchen. Vk'leita could practically feel Helena's smile aimed at them. "Hello my sweethearts." She called. Immediately, her pups came running out to hug her. They crowded around her and searched to find a spot to hold her while Vk'leita tried to awkwardly make room for them. Lar'nix'va's pups stayed behind at the kitchen's entrance, looking dejected that their own mother wasn't awake.

After several minutes of hugging, Helena finally sat back from her kids and leaned against Vk'leita's chest. "You said we got sick and fell asleep here?" She asked her husband. Vk'leita nodded at her and stroked a mandible through her hair. "_Sei-i_. . .I don't know what you have." He said. Helena took a moment to cough into her hands before leaning back with a groan again, startling Vk'leita greatly. "I think I know what it is." She mumbled before looking at her oldest daughter. "Sweety, do you know where mommy keeps her medical bags?" She asked. Her oldest nodded and stood up to her feet. "I'll go get them!" She declared. Helena smiled at her and nodded. "Thank you honey. Bring back both of them so I can check Da'dtou-di as well." She instructed.

Her daughter ran off and then her oldest son stood up. "We forgot about the soup!" He yelled before running back into the kitchen. The others jumped up and followed him, panicking with the thought that they had burned their mother's dinner.

Helena turned her head towards her hubby and rose an eyebrow. "Soup?" She asked. Vk'leita nodded and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I needed to distract them with something to do. They're making your favorite." He stated. Helena giggled and drowsily nuzzled the side of his neck. "Thank you babe." She softly whispered. Vk'leita nuzzled her back and held her tighter. "You and your hundreds of nicknames." He teased. Helena chuckled just as her daughter came pounding down the stairs. "I've got them!" She declared, holding up the bags. Helena sat up and held out her hands for them. "Thank you honey." She said as her daughter handed them over.

Turning on her side, Helena motioned for Shorty to move Machiko over to her.

"Let's see if I'm right."

* * *

"I was right." Helena declared after checking Machiko and herself out.

Machiko had woken up about half way through the examination after Helena had tried to subtly stick a thermometer in her mouth. Then it took longer because her kids had come out of the kitchen to greet her much the same way Helena's own kids had. Lar'nix'va had swiftly sent them away after so Helena could finish her job.

"Right about what?" Vk'lieta asked, scooching closer to his wife on her mat.

Helena looked over at Machiko's still drowsy looking form and chuckled. "We've got colds." She said. Machiko groaned and grabbed her pillow to flop back on the floor. "I was getting used to never having those again." She complained from beneath the pillow. Helena nodded in agreement as she felt Vk'leita's hands circle her waist. "What is a. . .cold?" He asked in confusion. Helena leaned back against him and rubbed the side of his jaw with her thumb. "It's the most common and most annoying sickness amongst humans." She said. Vk'leita tilted his head at her, and from the corner of her eye, she spotted Machiko sitting up. Lar'nix'va wrapped his arms around her to give her support. "What does it do?" He asked. Machiko took a deep breath and tried to explain despite her stuffed nose. "It causes fevers, sore throats, and stuffed or runny noses. It's the most annoying sickness to have because it's nothing but an irritant."

Lar'nix'va couldn't help but smile at her snappish tone as she talked about the sickness. It was funny to see her get annoyed with simple things like that, especially when she was normally the most composed out of the both of them.

"How do we treat it?" Vk'leita asked seriously, not finding any of this funny.

Helena once again reached back and rubbed the side of his jaw. "There's not really a way to treat it." She admitted. "I don't have the correct tools or supplies to, anyway." "We can visit your earth and get you the supplies." Vk'leita said seriously. Helena giggled and kissed the side of his neck. "Honey, don't worry. This isn't life threatening. It mostly requires sleep and lots of water." "And vapo-rub." Machiko added, creaking an eye open at Helena. Helena chuckled and nodded. "I believe I've still got some in my old medic kit." She stated. "Please use it!" Machiko exclaimed.

Helena smiled and promised to send one of her pups to get it from her room when said pups from both families came out of the kitchen carrying a giant pot and a tray between them.

"Soup is done!" Helena's eldest son said proudly as he and his sister carried the pot over. Machiko's kids were more quiet as they presented an overly large tray of sushi to her. Both women grinned at the sight before thanking their pups. "Did you make enough for everyone?" Machiko asked, sitting up and off of Lar'nix'va, who had been holding her the entire time. Her children nodded and set the tray down. "There's more in the cold storage." Her oldest daughter informed her. Helena asked the same thing of her pups and they confirmed that there was enough for everyone. "Well, then you better go get the plates and bowls." She said to her two youngest, who got up and ran back to the kitchen. Vk'leita leaned his head around her and looked at two of the middle children. "Don't forget the scoops for the soup." He gave them a stern look until they got up and ran to the kitchen to get the yautja version of 'spoons'.

Lar'nix'va looked down at his mate and reached into his hanging supply pouch. Pulling out a wrapped parcel, he handed it over to Machiko, who slowly unwrapped it. It was a pair of chopsticks that he now carried around with him everywhere thanks to her.

"Thank you." Machiko slowly leaned up and kissed the underside of his chin, still feeling a bit groggy due to her cold.

Lar'nix'va purred at her affections and nuzzled the top of her head. "I've got more if you need them." He informed her. Machiko smiled and settled herself against him more comfortably. "I know you do." She reached a hand over and rubbed the bicep of one of the arms he had wrapped around her. Their children came back in with plates and spoons, and immediately Machiko's youngest daughter came bounding over to her.

"Mommy, are you going to be alright?" She clicked. Machiko held her arms out to her and her daughter came over for a hug. "_Sei-i_, I am." Machiko told her as soon as her daughter was settled in. "This is just something that humans get often." "So you're not going to die?" Her son butted in, walking over and sitting on Machiko's thigh. Machiko smiled at him and nodded. "_Sei-i_, I'm not going to die." She confirmed. Her son smiled at her and Helena clapped her hands behind the group. "We better eat before the food gets cold. . .and luke warm." She added, eyeing Machiko's sushi. Machiko nodded and Lar'nix'va reached over to hand her a plate. "Here." He softly clicked, pressing his mandibles in a yautja style kiss to the side of her head. Machiko smiled and squeezed his hand.

"This has got to be the oddest Christmas Eve I've ever had." She admitted. Lar'nix'va cocked his head at her and rose an eyebrow. "How so?" He asked. Machiko smiled and stretched out on his lap. "Sushi and chicken soup for Christmas Eve dinner," She giggled. "not very traditional." Lar'nix'va purred and leaned down to her ear, clicking softly so their pups wouldn't hear him. "I can think of one tradition we can do later if you're feeling better after we eat." He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively, a human habit she had taught him. Machiko turned red but smiled at him before cupping the side of his face and planting a kiss on his jaw. "We'll see." She smirked at his hopeful look.

They ate in a relatively cheerful mood after that.

* * *

Bonus content: Dedicated to AFarAwayLand!

* * *

"Please Dachande!" Helena begged while Machiko was trying not to burst into laughter behind her.

Dachande gave her a sour look at her request. "**Md-i**." He bluntly replied.

Both Helena and Machiko pouted at him and Dachande felt his will caving. They had explained to him a long time ago what a gag gift was. A gift given as a joke to get a laugh out of someone. The girls had just given him a gag gift; an article of clothing they wanted him to wear just for them. Normally, he was fond of them enough to give them anything they wanted.

This though. . . .

Dachande held up the matching pair of lacy and frilly loincloth (the girls called it a 'thong') and bust top that was normally worn by women. This one was more oddly shaped though, and had a strange wire at the bottom of where the milk glands would be cupped. The loincloth, he didn't mind. Everyone of his kind wore them (despite this ones odd look). The bust top though, was sure to humiliate him if he was ever caught in it.

Helena held her hands up in a pleading motion. "Please." She begged again, pouting at him.

Dachande hated it when she did that. It's what his daughters did when they wanted something, and he had a hard time denying them anything because of it. He felt himself already caving, and then Machiko had to join in. "Please Dachande. It'll be just between us." She began to pout as well.

**Pauk**! There went his iron will.

"Fine." He grumbled, still looking sour. The girls cheered before him and he instantly knew that he was going to regret this. By the devilish looks in their eyes, this was going to become his greatest humiliation.

Five minutes later, after struggling to get the bust top on and then finding the women helping him stuff it until it was full, he found that he was correct.

But their happy laughter, even at his expense, was worth it to him.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**ooman**: human

-**sei-i**: yes

-**Md-i**: no

-**Pauk**: F**k

_So fun story, I actually found a picture of a yautja wearing human lingerie once on DevianArt. You can tell where I got some of the inspiration for that last little gag bit from. It mostly came from AFarAwayLand though, who has been one of my biggest supporters and I am immensely grateful to her for it._

_Anyways, Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, no matter what you celebrate._

_See ya in the next chapter!_


	29. Chapter26 In Which Plans Move On

Dachande watched from the control panels set up in his room as Vk'leita's smaller ship left the docking bay and sped off into the vast expanse of space.

He wasn't sure it was smart of Vk'leita to leave his mate at this time, considering the state she was in. She was taking the loss of her chicken pretty hard. Vk'leita, however, after a day and a half of the creature's passing, had insisted that he had a personal mission he needed to fulfill and that he'd be back. Dachande didn't know what this personal mission was or why it took place over comforting his mate, but he didn't press for details and he gave Vk'leita his full pardon to leave on such short notice. Helena would probably be mad at him again for letting him leave, and mad at Vk'leita too for running away after they had just reached a fragile understanding of each other. It couldn't be helped though. Vk'leita was insistant that this task of his was important.

Dachande sighed deep in his throat and turned his mind to other issues.

The council of Ancients had apparently come to a decision in Dachande's absence. The final verdict for his application to lead a ship of blooded warriors only had been decided. Thanks to Kal'drag-ne's heavy intervention and explanation of how Dachande's decision with the ****oomans**** had all been part of Paya's plan, the ancients had pardoned his otherwise unorthodox decision and deemed him responsible enough to lead the ship. Even with his, now that he thought about it, foolish outburst of declaring that he wouldn't be leading a new ship either. He now had two months to come back to their home planet and fill out the necessary documents and contracts he'd need in order to take possession of a new ship and establish his new rank. After that he could take his time to send out the notices to the members of his clan that positions on his ship were open. He'd need yautja who knew how to work the finer details of a ship as well. Governing a mothership full of blooded hunters was not a task he could do alone.

On top of that fact, there was the issue of who the first hunters would be.

When a new mothership of blooded hunters is established, the leader of that ship must invite the blooded hunters to come and join the crew. The first ones invited received the highest honor of the invite, as it shows who the leader trusts the most out of all other hunters. Dachande had received this honor of being the first invited many times when he was younger and before he had become a teacher himself. He had turned them down in favor of his personal goal of being a leader of a ship himself.

Dachande clenched his mandibles together tightly.

He already knew who he was going to invite first. Three of them, anyway. Vk'leita was a trusted second in command. Despite his challenges of Dachande's authority in the past, he was still reliable to get the task done. Dachande also knew that Vk'leita was quickly tiring of dealing with unblooded students, just like he was. The urge to be with those of their own age and skill level was strong. It made dealing with the immature unbloodeds irritating most of the time.  
With Vk'leita came Helena. Dachande knew he was going to bring her along the moment he had blooded her and she had accepted to be a part of his clan and ship crew. He had marked her when she was _ooman_ and he had fully intended to take responsibility for her from that point onward. The fact that she was the intended mate of his second in command just made everything fall into place perfectly, despite their hard time of accepting their mate status to each other. . .well, Helena's hard time, anyway.

Machiko, on the other hand, was going to be a problem.

Dachande had fully intended to take her along, just like he had with Helena. Machiko's mate, however, was not yet blooded. Dachande could not take him along, despite his ****bhu'ja jehdin**** status with Machiko. He had to pass his ****Chiva**** above everything else. Courting his intended mate had to be second to proving his success at being an acknowledged adult, no matter how painful it was to put her behind. Lar'nix'va's small size made it doubly important that he prove himself to the clan and to his mate-to-be.  
Dachande didn't know if the separation would be good for them. He knew he was taking Machiko along, no matter what. Despite the bond she and Lar'nix'va have to learn to build together, Dachande had seen that the bond already established between Machiko and Helena had to be maintained. Those two kept each other sane in a world that was not their own. Now their unique situation made them rely on each other even more. Dachande would not be so cruel to leave Machiko behind just so she could wait on Lar'nix'va to be ready for her.

But could they live with being separated? Dachande knew that Machiko could go on just fine, but Lar'nix'va. . .there was more at stake for him.

Dachande let out another aggravated sigh. He had to admit one stereotype about _oomans_ was true, at least. They made everything more complicated than it needed to be. Apparently indirectly as well.

Dachande still cared for those two anyway.

* * *

Machiko watched from the corner of her eye as Helena stayed slumped against a wall, arms crossed and staring at the floor with a blank look in her eyes.

After Cluck's death, Helena had shut herself up in her room, not letting anyone in for over a day and a half. Machiko had stayed silently by her door the entire time, worried over her friend. Machiko had also noticed, with no small amount of personal amusement, how Topknot had stayed by her door as well. The yautja didn't seem to notice Machiko's presence as he paced back and forth in front of her door, looking back at it every now and then and opening his mandibles wide for several seconds before closing them and going back to pacing. Machiko had realized after the third time he had done this that Topknot was trying to catch Helena's scent through the door and gauge her physical wellbeing. Maybe her emotional wellbeing as well. It seemed that the door was too thick to let any of Helena's scent through, for he grew more agitated and worried with every failed attempt he made.

Machiko admitted that she found some sick pleasure at seeing this side of him. She hadn't fully forgiven him of his treatment towards her, especially his treatment towards Helena. She knew through secondhand sources that he was trying to repent of his wrongdoings towards Helena, but she had never seen it in action herself. Seeing Topknot this beat up and worried over Helena brought her some self satisfaction that he was finally getting his just desserts.

When Helena finally emerged, Topknot was the first to get to her, despite Machiko's attempts to get past him.

Machiko watched with shock as Topknot wrapped his arms around Helena's hips and held her close, despite his head only being level with her breasts. He looked up at her and the two shared a look before Helena looked past him and spotted Machiko. Helena sent her an apologetic frown before speaking. "Do you mind if I talk to him alone for a minute?" She gently asked. Machiko, despite wanting to talk to her friend first, nodded her head and turned around. "I'll go get you some breakfast." She declared and left.

When she next came back, Topknot was gone and Helena was waiting by the doorway, looking a little lost in thought.

Machiko approached her and Helena finally blinked herself out of her daze when her friend drew close. "I snuck you some of that fruit you like." Machiko declared, handing over a fruit shaped like a cartoonish spiked ball. Helena gave her a weak smile before taking the fruit. "Thanks." She quietly clicked before peeling the rind away and taking a bite. Machiko unpeeled her own as well and took a bite, both of them eating in silence and finishing before Machiko asked her question.

"How are you feeling?" She asked softly.

Helena sent her another weak smile in an attempt to reassure her before answering. "Well, honestly, not good. . .I know it probably seems stupid for me to react this strongly over a chicken, but well. . .I raised that chicken from an egg. It was also one of the only things I had left from my human life." Helena made a show of looking back into her room for emphasis before continuing. "I sort of, maybe, trashed everything else."

"Think Dachande will let you go back to earth to get another one?" Machiko asked out of curiosity.

Helena shrugged and looked at the floor. "I don't think I could handle another one at the moment. Especially not one that I didn't raise myself. And breaking into an IFA store just to get all of the supplies I would need to raise a chick to a full grown chicken would be more hassle than it's worth. . .I think I'll be staying away from pets for now. . ."

Machiko silently nodded, and quickly thought about something else to talk about.

"What were you and Topknot talking about?" She asked curiously. Helena shrugged and leaned against a wall as well. "The same thing really. He asked me the same things you did. He also asked me why I shut him out for so long. I told him that since males are physically affected by females crying, I didn't want him getting hurt around me." Helena rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Sorry that I didn't let you in though. I didn't really want to talk with anyone." "That's alright." Machiko dismissed the apology. "Topknot was with me the entire time anyway. If you had opened the door for me, he would have come in as well." Helena rose an eyebrow at her. "You and Topknot. . .were outside my door this entire time?"  
Now it was Machiko's turn to act sheepish as she nodded her head. "**Sei-i**, we were. Sorry If that sounds stalkerish, but I was kind of worried that you, well. . .that you might end up doing something stupid. . .you know, since a lot's been going on lately and I thought maybe this would have tipped you over the edge-" "It's alright." Helena interrupted her. "Thank you for caring Machiko, really. I understand where you're coming from. It's also not stalkerish at all, trust me. I'm glad you were looking out for me."

Helena opened her arms up for a hug and Machiko gladly embraced her. They remained in a hug for several minutes before Machiko finally broke away and looked sheepish again.

"Well, um, now that I know you're alright, I. . .the doctors told me that Shorty should be waking up any time soon, so I. . .Well I-" She paused her rambling as Helena grinned at her. "Want me to come with you?" She offered. Machiki took a sigh of relief and nodded. "_Sei-i_, please do! It gets so awkward in there on my own."

Helena let out a genuine chuckle before the pair of them left her doorway and made their way to the medic hall.

* * *

Dachande had intercepted them before they could get through the door to Shorty's room.

He looked like he had something urgent to tell them, so both stopped and waited for him to catch up. When he finally caught up, Dachande was relieved to find them both there. "I need to talk to you both." He announced right away. "One on one if you don't mind." Helena and Machiko shared a look before Machiko turned towards the door. "You first, I'm going to go see Shorty." Helena chuckled and waved her on before turning towards Dachande.

"What's up?" She asked.

Dachande ignored her weird choice of wording and decided to get straight to the point.

"I'm going to be leaving soon." He announced. At Helena's startled look, he continued on. "I am going to be the leader of a ship of blooded warriors. I would like you and Machiko to be the first ones to come with me."  
Helena blinked in stunned shock several times before replying. "Wait, you're not going to be training students anymore?" Dachande shook his head at her before explaining. "In order to be the leader of a ship of blooded warriors, I needed to have several years of experience with training students first. The time has finally come for me to move on."

Helena frowned at him for a moment before asking her next question. ". . .Who else will be coming?"

Dachande didn't need to guess who else she wanted to know about. He smiled at her. "I will be inviting Vk'leita and Machiko as well." Dachande didn't miss the way her shoulders relaxed as soon as he said this. "They will have to accept the offer though." Helena nodded her head and squeezed her bottom mandibles together tightly before replying. "Well. . .if they accept it, then _sei-i_, I'll go with you."

Dachande gave her a knowing smile and rose an eyebrow at her teasingly. "They?" He asked. Dachande wanted to laugh at how her mandibles flushed green in a heated blush. "We're working things out between us. We're not mates yet." She replied defensively. Dachande shook his head and chuckled. "And yet, you already seek his presence for comfort." He softly said, not being harsh at all with this knowledge.

Helena's blush deepened and she looked away from him. "Like I said, we're working on it. We've made **some** progress already." Dachande simply laughed, mandibles clicking rapidly, and walked past her to get to Lar'nix'va's room. "I expect at least eight successful pups from you two!" He clicked over his shoulder at her and watched with amusement as her face took on a look of astonishment. "Hold on, when were we talking about having kids? And eight?! Dachande!"

Dachande refused to answer her and went into Lar'nix'va's room to talk to Machiko.

* * *

Machiko was sitting on the edge of Shorty's bed and watching him breath peacefully in his sleep when Dachande walked in.

Machiko had over-heard Dachande talking to Helena in the hallway and already knew what he was going to ask.  
"Before you begin," Machiko started, stopping Dachande from opening his mouth. "When would we be leaving?"  
Dachande's amused look returned as he took a seat opposite her and answered. "Not for a while. In two months, I will **have** to take this ship and return us all to our home world. Then I'll be finalizing all the things needed for my new ship. During that time, I will have to find a suitable replacement to take over this one for me. These pups will still need to have their training completed, and I cannot just drop them off at home for them to find a new tutor when I took on the responsibility for them in the first place. Finding someone who I will be proud to share the credit of training these pups with will take time."

Machiko nodded at this news and looked back at Shorty. Two months. Two months was plenty of time for him to wake up and for them to talk about things that needed to be discussed.

Machiko pierced her mandibles together and looked back at Dachande. "I noticed you didn't mention him when you were listing off who was coming along." She pointed out. Dachande nodded his head at her. "_Sei-i_, I didn't. I wouldn't be able to take him along even if I wanted to." Dachande leaned forward in his seat. "He is not yet blooded. He must complete his training here before I can invite him to join my ship of blooded hunters." He noticed the slightly sad look that Machiko's face had taken on and softly clicked at her. "I know you and him were just beginning to bond. . .Am I right to assume that you both have things to discuss with one another?" "_Sei-i_, we do. But the doctors told me that he'll be waking up soon. If we're not leaving for another two months, then him and I have time."

Dachande decided to ask what she meant by 'doctors' later and went on to a more pressing matter. "So. . .does that mean you'll join me on my ship?" Machiko looked down at Shorty one last time thoughtfully before looking back at Dachande.

"_Sei-i_. I'm coming with you."

* * *

Author's notes: Translation time!

-**Ooman**: Human

-**Sei-i**: Yes

-**Bhu'ja Jehdin**: Spirit Spar (Yautja equivalent of a 'soul mate'. It means "the one who will fight life by my side".)

-**Chiva**: Trial

**_(IMPORTANT NEWS!)_**

_I have some announcements to make!_

_First off, Part two of this story is coming to a close soon. Maybe one or two more chapters left. Yes, there will be a part 3._

_Second off, my life is about to get very busy in the next couple of weeks. Besides having work, I also start college soon. On top of that, I'm going to be taking dance classes outside of college. These things are definitely going to be taking up time, which will affect the rate I publish these chapters. I am going to **try** and make some sort of concrete schedule so I can make more consistent updates with this story while keeping up with everything else. I'm trying to get my life in order because honestly, it's kind of a wreck. It'll be hard to do since my work doesn't have a solid week to week schedule itself. So be fair warned, especially for the next couple of weeks, you might be getting slower chapter updates._

_Third and final one. A friend and I have opened up a youtube channel and will be making content there fairly soon. We haven't posted anything yet, but when we do, I'll give you guys a link to the channel (Readers on Fanfiction. net, I'm just going to have to give you the channel name to look up since Fanfiction. net is a butt about posting links anywhere).  
My friend and I plan to do the following:  
-Read and Voice act fanfictions.  
-Narrate our own written stories.  
-Voice act webcomics.  
-Whatever else we think we can squeeze in._

_If any of these interest you, then consider checking us out when we finally have some content up for you to see. I should have more information for you all about this in the next chapter._

_Bye for now!_


	30. Chapter27 In Which They Surprise Them

Machiko felt a headache coming on before her day even started.

Normally, she was really good with stress. The current events however, were anything but normal. The emotional turmoil of the revelations concerning the Witch and the Yautjan God, combined with all of the little things piled on top of her plate, was making it hard for her to concentrate. First was her sense of duty to Helena. The poor woman looked lost now that her chicken was gone, and after having come to some connection with Topknot, he up and vanished a month ago. Then there was Shorty, who was still unconscious and hadn't had the chance to talk to her about matters that should have been his to tell her in the first place. Now Dachande wanted her to join him on a hunt soon, but deemed Helena, in her current state, too unstable to go. Machiko actually agreed with him, but was more worried about leaving her friend alone than how well she'd perform on a hunt.

Machiko needed a break badly!

Helena though, knew this and decided to give her one.  
"Go, take a long bath or something. I'll be fine." Helena waved Machiko away. Machiko quirked an eyebrow at her so Helena stiffened her stance. "You're tired. I can see it in your eyes." "You are too!" Machiko retorted. Helena gave a weak chuckle before shaking her head. "No nap is going to fix what I'm feeling. You, on the other hand, could probably use one. Go. I'm ordering you to go relax as your doctor and your friend." Machiko huffed at her attempt to pull rank on her, but felt her resolve softening up. "Will you honestly be alright by yourself?" She asked. Helena nodded and gestured to her room behind her. "I said a nap won't help me, but I'm probably going to take one anyway, and a nice long bath. I'll be fine, I promise." Machiko finally felt her resolve let up. "Well. . .I'll have my gauntlet nearby if you need me to come back." She promised. Helena smiled at her and tapped her own gauntlet. "I'll let you know if the Queen's broken out again or something."

Giving a chuckle, Machiko gave Helena an affectionate hand squeeze before turning and leaving.

A bath and a nap really did sound nice right now.

* * *

"He's waking up!" Someone gave a shout with loudly clicking mandibles.

The head Healer turned the corner to the room and peaked inside, finding the small yautja beginning to shift around and groan on the bed with secondary healers watching over him. The head Healer gave a soft sigh. "If he wakes up fully, send a message to Dachande. The pup needs to resist the last fight with death before he can open his eyes." The head Healer observed by looking at Lar'nix'va.

"I estimate another two hours before the outcome of the fight with death is determined." One of the secondary healers informed him. The head Healer nodded and left.

It was up to Paya now if he wanted the pup to live or not.

* * *

"Dachande, we have news." A messenger called out.

The elder yautja turned in his chair and raised an eyebrow at the messenger that came from the medic bay, judging from his clothes. "What is it?" Dachande clicked. The Messenger fidgeted under his intense gaze. "Lar'nix'va has awoken." He finally got out. Dachande looked elsewhere and slowly nodded his head to acknowledge that he heard him. "Thank you. I'll deal with him in a moment."  
The messenger bowed his head respectfully and left Dachande's presence as quickly as possible.

Once the messenger was gone, Dachande took a sigh of relief and turned towards his gauntlet that rested on the table.

Although he should go and acknowledge Lar'nix'va for his brave stand against the Queen and his even braver battle with Death in his sleep, he knew Lar'nix'va needed something else right now. He needed to finally have the talk with Machiko about where they stood with each other. The tension between them was thick and the cause for it had gone on long enough.

Dachande picked up his gauntlet and began to send a message to Machiko.

* * *

Lar'nix'va was staring at the new, long scar across his belly when his healing room door opened up in front of him. He looked up to find Da'dtou-di entering in.

He was momentarily stunned by her appearance. He hadn't expected her to come at all. Though the healers did inform him that it was Da'dtou-di that brought him here, Lar'nix'va didn't expect her to come back at all afterwards.

The woman looked away from him awkwardly as the door closed behind her. "Um, are you well enough to talk?" She hesitantly clicked, fiddling with the claws on her fingers as she spoke. Lar'nix'va was surprised by her nervousness and sat up further in his bed. "**Sei-i**, I've been fed and have been awake for two hours now. The healers say I am fine now." He confirmed. "Good." Da'dtou-di softly clicked and walked over. She sat on the edge of his bed, surprising him even further and now making him slightly worried about what she wanted to talk about. It must be serious if she was willing to get this close to him just to talk.

Da'dtou-di let out a deep sigh before finally meeting his eyes. "A lot of things happened while you were out cold." She lifted one mandible in a weak smile. Lar'nix'va blinked at her both in confusion and surprise. He hadn't been expecting that response. "Oh. . .what has occurred?" He asked, tilting his head. Da'dtou-di opened her mandibles and then closed them again, getting a look of contemplation in her eyes. Finally, she opened them again and spoke. "Well, um. . .look, Shorty, I kind of found out about your **bhu'ja jehdin** being me. . . ."  
Lar'nix'va's mandibles fell open to gap at her as his mind processed what she had just told him. Of all the things he had been expecting, it wasn't that! Who had told her? Vk'leita? Dachande?! Surely they wouldn't betray him like that.

Lar'nix'va kept gapping at her and Da'dtou-di sighed. "Look, I. . . .oh Hell, I honestly don't know what to say. We don't have things like that back on earth."

"You don't?" Lar'nix'va asked, voice sounding a little strained. Machiko nodded and gestured with her hands. "**M-di**, we don't. We have told stories with concepts like _bhu'ja jehdins_, but we don't actually have them. So I. . .I'm having a little bit of a hard time believing that a God who is not my own decided I should be the soul mate to someone else."  
Shorty hung his head at the news. "So. . . .you are rejecting me then?" He quietly clicked, soft enough that Machiko almost didn't hear him. She quickly shook her head at him. "_M-di_! I just. . .I'm just having a hard time believing in it. We don't believe in love at first sight. It makes no sense to us humans! Same thing with soul mates. It's just hard to believe that you're destined to love someone when you've never met them before."

Shorty tilted his head up a little and looked at her from under his eyebrows. "Love?" He asked curiously.

Machiko nodded her head at him. "_Sei-i_, love. . . .do yautja not have a word for it or something?" She asked. Shorty shook his head. "_M-di_, we do know of love, but. . .it's seen as a weakness. . . .we try not to feel it towards anyone because it lets ourselves become weak."

Machiko had to admit, she felt a small sting of disappointment hit her when he said this.

Ok, a large sting. It really hurt to hear that he didn't believe in love and possibly didn't love her like she thought he might have been doing.

Machiko sighed. "Humans don't view love that way. . .guess our cultural differences are bigger than I thought. . . ."  
Shorty frowned at her and sat up straighter. "How do **oomans** view love, if not as a weakness as well?" He asked. Machiko clamped her mandibles together in thought as she pondered on how to answer. This was going to be difficult.  
"Well. . .we don't view love itself as a weakness. . .but we do know that people can use our love against us to exploit our weaknesses already there. . .it's more of a tool to show our vulnerability, not necessarily our weaknesses themselves. Does that make sense?" Shorty cocked his head to the side, answering her question. He clearly did not understand. "Ok, um. Love is. . .love isn't just one feeling to us. When we love someone, we usually have the desire to protect that person at all costs. We. . .we feel the need to show affection to that person. If that person is sad, we feel the need to comfort them and hold them in any way we can. If that person were in need of something, we'd have the desire to fulfill that person's need if it is in our power to do so. Love is. . .the desire to show your best sides to someone who you think deserves your best. Now does it make sense?"  
"_Sei-i_, though I'm still trying to understand it all."

Shorty looked down at his bed sheets for a moment before looking back up at her. "Da'dtou-di, if that is what love is to you, then I. . .I think I love you. . ._M-di_, I-I know I do! I love you!"

Machiko frowned at him and shook her head. "Shorty, how can you say that? We barely know each other." Now Shorty frowned at her and shook his head as well. "_M-di_, if that is how you see love, then I have loved you for a very long time. . .long before we have ever met. . ."

Machiko's frown deepened a this news, worried that he had gotten her definition of love wrong. "How? How can you love me before you've ever met me?" She demanded.

Lar'nix'va gulped as he was about to reveal information about himself that he had never told anyone else. How she described love made him realize he needed to be vulnerable with her here if he wanted to get anywhere with her.  
"I know I love you because. . .because you saved my life." At Da'dtou-di's astounded look, he continued on. "Da'dtou-di, before we even met, your very existence saved my life. On the day I was told about you in my sight blessing, you redeemed me from a fate that would have dishonored me in one of the greatest ways possible. As soon as I learned of you, that's when I loved you."

Da'dtou-di was fully gapping at him now. "Shorty, what are you talking about? How can you say any of that?" She asked, taken completely by surprise.

Lar'nix'va clamped his mandibles together tightly before answering. "I can tell your culture does not do this, or you would understand. . . .Da'dtou-di, when a mother feels that her child is not worthy to live, she has the right to kill that pup."  
Machiko gave him a completely horrified look at this news. "W-What?! Kill their pup?!. . .Shorty, are you telling me that your mother was planning to kill you?" His silence confirmed her question and so she asked another. "Why? What could you have possible done to deserve that kind of judgement on your life?"

Lar'nix'va frowned and tilted his head to stare at the floor again. "It's what I **didn't** do. . .I didn't grow. . ."

"What?" Da'dtou-di asked, confusion in her voice. Lar'nix'va looked back up at her and silently gestured at himself. "I didn't grow as fast as the others. It was obvious from a young age that I was not going to be an acceptable height to our society. So my mother intended to have me killed and to keep the bloodlines clean of my deformity. My father was the only one who stopped her from doing it long ago. He, however, could not keep her at bay forever. Eventually, she would have dismissed his arguments and would have killed me. . .I was expecting that to be my fate once my sight blessing was done,"

Lar'nix'va felt his throat begin to swell up as the emotions both from the memories of his mother and the feelings Da'dtou-di produced in him made it harder for him to breath.

"but then you came to my knowledge and suddenly I was saved." He felt his eyes begin to sting and it was getting harder to talk. "As soon as the Oracle said I had a _bhu'ja jehdin_, my mother lost her right to kill me. To kill me would have interfered with Paya's direct plan for me. I went home that day, happier than I had ever been in my life, knowing my mother could not lay a hand on me from that day forward."

Lar'nix'va looked up and abruptly took Da'dtou-di's hand, who was frozen in a state of shock. "The mere mention of your existence saved my life. You gave me a second chance to live and Da'dtou-di, **that** is how I know I love you! I don't care that we barely know each other. I already know that I'll be happy with everything about you. I had unknowingly decided long ago that I love you, and I. . .I hate everything about myself now because of it. . . ."

Lar'nix'va hung his head and finally let out the tears he had been holding back. Heaving sobs escaped his throat, but Da'dtou-di squeezed his hand. "Shorty," She prodded him. "What do you mean you hate yourself?" She asked, desperate for answers. Lar'nix'va sucked in a breath and tried to reply without letting the sobs out again. "Because I hurt you! I have been hurting you for years and you're my mate! I practically took the second chance you gave me and threw it in your face. As soon as I found out who you were, I. . .**I should have killed myself because of what I did!**"

Machiko froze at his confession as Shorty hung his head and let the wails out again. His body shook with his crying and Machiko was both moved and horrified by everything he had told her.

Seeing him like this. . .she couldn't bare to see him this broken.

Machiko wasn't a touchy-feely person by nature. Her ability to show affection and emotion was stunted long ago by events in her childhood that made it hard to connect with others on a deeper level.  
Right now, however, even she knew he needed a hug.  
Machiko moved quickly and wrapped her arms around Shorty before he could notice and protest. She pulled him close and held him to her tightly. Shorty momentarily froze at the sudden contact, shocked out of his state of misery by a comforting touch. The moment of shock didn't last though, and Lar'nix'va quickly took that opportunity to hug her back before burying his face in her shoulder and continuing to let himself shed tears. He felt Da'dtou-di's hands begin to rub his back in soothing circles and it caused him to bury his head deeper against her neck.  
Under normal circumstances, he'd be completely ashamed of crying in front of her; but these circumstances were anything but normal.

For a while they stayed like that until Shorty finally calmed down again. When he did, Machiko pulled back from him so she could lift his chin and look him in the eye.

"Shorty. . . as moved as I am by your words. . .I'm still going to need time." At his crestfallen face, she continued. "I am **not** rejecting you. I promise it's not that. I just need more time to come to terms with what I've learned." "How much more time?" Shorty asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"At least two years." Rumbled a deep voice behind them.

Shorty lifted his head to look over Machiko's shoulder and she turned slightly to the side to see who had spoken.  
Dachande stood in the doorway, giving Lar'nix'va a stern look. He walked into the room and folded his arms across his chest before addressing the smaller male. "You still have to complete your **Chiva** before you can even court her. You know this." Shorty frowned, but nodded his head to acknowledge that he heard him. Dachande relaxed his stance and glanced at Machiko before addressing Lar'nix'va again. "As it happens, Machiko has accepted my offer to join my new crew of blooded warriors." Lar'nix'va's head shot up and he gave Machiko a wide eyed look and she gave him a sheepish one back. "_Sei-i_. . .I did. . ." Lar'nix'va turned his head back to Dachande and he almost wanted to scold the pup for giving him such a desperate look. "Do not worry. Since she is your _bhu'ja jehdin_, I know it is important for you two to be together." He relaxed his stance even further and gestured to Lar'nix'va. "Therefor, I am extending an invitation to you. If you pass your _Chiva_, I will have a spot on my new ship ready for you to join. So in two years, when you have gone through your _Chiva_, you may have your chance to court Da'dtou-di there. What do you say?"

Without missing a beat, Lar'nix'va answered him. "_Sei-i_. I will join you once I have proved myself a man."  
Dachande nodded and turned to leave. "Good. This ship leaves back for homeworld in a week."

And with that, he left them alone.

* * *

Helena was trudging back from the public bathroom and was about to open her door when a peculiar noise reached her hearing canals.

It sounded like chirping.

Confused and thinking she was hearing things, Helena entered her room and nearly slammed into Topknot on the way in. The woman gave a yelp as she stopped herself and Topknot grabbed on to her hips to steady her. He gave her hips a gentle squeeze when she stared down at him. "It's just me." He promised.

Helena gapped down at him for a second before closing her mouth, feeling numb again. "You left." She bluntly said.

Vk'leita frowned at her and nodded. "_Sei-i_, I did. I had to take care of something." Now Helena frowned at him back and waited for him to explain, so he did.  
Reaching down to the bag hanging off of his loincloth, Vk'leita brought the bag up and then reached inside. "I had to go get these from your planet."  
Bringing his hand back out, Vk'leita revealed five little chicks clambering around on his large palm.

Helena gapped at the sight, completely taken by surprise. "There's more." Vk'leita said before she could say anything, grasping her hand gently and guiding her into her room.

Once inside all the way, Helena let out another gasp at the surprise waiting for her.

An actual chicken coop was lined up against her wall, with even more chicks inside. They gathered around a heat lamp and were letting off little chirps that warmed Helena's heart to hear. Piled along the side of the coop were bags of various chicken feed. Bags of wood shavings were stacked alongside the coop as well.

Vk'leita watched Helena's gapping face nervously. "I tried my best to find the right ones." He said.

Him speaking broke Helena out of her staring and she turned to look down at him. He turned his head away sheepishly to the side. "This is why it took me so long. I'm sorry about that." Helena was so astounded that she could only ask one question. "How?"  
Vk'leita looked up and then gestured towards the coop with his hand. "Well, I'm not an expert on _oomans _or their animals, but there are those on my planet who are. So I had to return back to homeworld to acquire the services of someone who is an expert. Even then, it took them a while to come back to me with the information I needed. Then there was the matter of returning to your world and finding all the things I needed."  
He walked over to the bags of feed and pointed at them while looking at her. "I had to communicate with the expert over my gauntlet on which ones to get. I cannot read _ooman_ writing, so it took several days for the translations to come back-" "You did all of this for me?" Helena interrupted, astounded by the lengths he was going through for her.

Vk'leita looked at the ground sheepishly before nodding. "_Sei-i_. If it's not the right things, I can go back-" He didn't get to finish as Helena had walked forward and scooped him up into a hug without him noticing her approach. "You did it perfectly!" She declared, heart beating fast with excitement and happiness.

Vk'leita gave a sigh of relief inside her embrace and hugged her back. "So. . .does this make you happy?" He quietly asked.

Helena set him back down and looked over at the coop before looking back at him. "_Sei-i_, it does." She dropped her hands down to his and gave them a squeeze. "Topknot, thank you. I had no idea you would do something like this for me." "This is nothing compared to what I owe you." Vk'leita said quietly. Helena tilted her head at him curiously. "What is it you owe me?" She asked, curious about his answer.  
Vk'leita's lower mandibles twitched into a frown as he replied. "Everything. . .for everything I've done to you, I owe you everything. . . I am sorry. . ."

Now Helena was frowning at him. She didn't want this happy moment to be ruined by their bad memories. And she knew just how to cheer him up.  
Reaching down, Helena cupped his chin with her hand and tilted his head up to look at her. Topknot met her eyes and Helena let one mandible reach out to stroke against the side of his, shocking him with her tenderness. "Topknot. . .I accept your courtship."

At gave Helena great amusement to see his mandibles drop open in surprise. "W-What?!" He exclaimed.

Helena let out a soft chuckle and stroked the sides of his mandibles with hers again. "Your courtship, I accept it. I want you to court me."  
Vk'leita was still gapping at her when he replied. "A-Are you sure? Are you sure that you've forgiven me enough to accept my attempts?" He asked. Helena smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. "Sei-i, I have. . .this gift may have earned you a little favor with me." She grinned.

Vk'leita couldn't help what he did next.

He let out a howl of triumph and happiness.

**(End of Part 2)**

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**Sei-i**: Yes

-**M-di**: No

**-bhu'ja jehdin**: Spirit Spar (Their equivalent of a Soul Mate. It roughly translates to "the one who will fight life by my side")

**-Chiva**: Trial

-**ooman**: human

_This is the end of part two! Woot Woot! Yes, there will be a part 3._

_And now you know why Vk'leita didn't tell Helena that he loved her, yet. Dating someone from a differenct culture can be hard some times when it comes to communication._  
_  
Anyways, I know I said I was going to have more information on my friend's and I's YouTube page, but that project is taking longer than we thought. I'm going to be drawing the pictures for the projects, and I can't seem to get the right character's face that I want for the main character.  
I will be continuing to try, but it's going to take a while. I'll keep you all updated on it._

_Anyways, see you in the Epilogue!_


	31. (Epilogue of Part 2)

Vk'leita stared at Dachande with a sinking heart at the request he was given.

Dachande stared back. "Is there a problem?" He asked. Vk'leita quickly clamped his mandibles together for a second before letting out a sigh and responding. "****Sei-i****. . .there is." Dachande tilted his head curiously at Vk'leita as the male yautja explained. "Dachande, I. . .I don't feel worthy to be your second in command." He painfully admitted.  
Even Dachande's eyebrows rose up in shock at this confession. "You don't feel worthy how?" He demanded. Vk'leita felt his toes curl as he forced his pride down for this conversation.

"After what happened with Yeyinda-I mean Helena and Da'dtou-di, I don't feel worthy to lead this clan, even as only a second in command. My judgement was so screwed up thanks to my bias towards them. I put everyone in danger by treating them the way I did. I. . .I nearly got Helena killed." Vk'leita said her name with reverence. Though they had agreed that they would only call each other 'Helena' and 'Topknot' behind closed doors, Vk'leita knew Dachande already knew her real name long before he had. It was a fact he was secretly jealous of, but had to remind himself that half the fault of that was his own for not learning it sooner, amongst other things he should have done the minute he met her.

Dachande let his mandibles droop down into a frown at this. "I thought you two put your actions in the past and moved forward." He said. Vk'leita gave a half attempt at a nod. "_Sei-i_, we did. . .or at least she did. . .I have not forgiven myself. Nor have I talked to Da'dtou-di yet to apologize either." "Then you better go do that, because I will accept no one else as my second." Dachande said stubbornly. Vk'leita frowned at him. "Even if she forgives me Dachande, it will be a long time before I can forgive myself." Dachande tilted his head at him. "How come?" He demanded.

Vk'leita's hands clenched at his sides.

"I can still see her bruise." He said quietly. Dachande remained silent as he continued. "It's gone now, but I can still see the bruise every time I look at her. And every time I close my eyes, I can still hear the sound of her skull cracking-" "What?!" Dachande interrupted, giving him an appaled look.  
Vk'leita's shoulders slumped. "I found out from the Witch that my attack not only bruised her. . .it nearly killed her. I had cracked her skull, and it was only thanks to the Witch's interference that she's still alive. I. . .That. . .That's the second time I put her life in danger." Vk'leita felt his body tremble. "That's the second time she nearly died by my hands." He looked up at Dachande with clear pain in his eyes. "I can't forgive myself for that!"

Silence filled the room.

Dachande stayed still for several seconds that stretched to minutes. Neither moved, but both felt the turmoil raging inside of them. Or more specifically, the turmoil raging inside of Vk'leita.

Finally, after a long while of deciding what to do, Dachande sighed. "So. . .what you're telling me is that you feel you still have to repent of your actions." "_Sei-i_, I do." Vk'leita softly answered. "Even going to the temple of Paya if I have to." Dachande tapped his claws on the armrest of his chair and thought about his answer.  
"Then do what you must have to," He said. Vk'leita was shocked that Dachande would accept his answer so easily, but then the elder yautja continued talking. "but I still want you to consider my offer." He stood up from his chair. "I also want you to discuss this with Helena." "Why?" Vk'leita asked. Dachande smirked. "Because I know she can change your mind." Vk'leita gave him a bewildered look as Dachande chuckled. "I know you will listen to her. In the mean time, I will make a compromise. I will leave the position open for you until you make a final decision. If you decide you still aren't worthy of it, then I will search for someone else I can trust. If you decide you are worthy, I will give you the position right away."

Dachande stopped before Vk'leita and shook his shoulder warmly. "Deal?"

Vk'leita thought about the offer for a moment before reaching up and shaking Dachande's shoulder in return.

"Deal."

* * *

Vk'leita found Helena laying down on her bed when he returned to her room.

The woman's 11 foot height caused her limbs to hang off the edges of the bed, a fact that brought Vk'leita great humor. When she had been human, the bed had been a perfect fit for her. Now, however, she was taller than most females of his species. This meant they had no beds that could actually fit her.

She didn't seem to actually mind this, having told him once that she had the same problem back on earth during her human years.

Vk'leita reached a hand out and trailed the tips of his claws up the side of her ankle and then up the curve of her calf until he reached the back of her knee. Her leg reflexively jerked and the woman grunted as she rolled over to look at him. Vk'leita grinned and chuckled at her with rapidly clicking mandibles. He had found this little trait of hers on accident. When asked to explain, she told him how humans tended to be this thing called 'ticklish'.  
Now he couldn't stop tickling her and she regretted telling him about it. Especially since he told Lar'nix'va and now the pup had a way of defeating Da'dtou-di whenever they sparred as well.

Vk'leita sat on the edge of the bed and turned so his back was facing her. He felt her shift around to make room for him and then he finally laid down next to her.

Helena pressed her side against his and Vk'leita let out a pleased purr at her affection. Then she leaned up on one elbow and blinked tired eyes at him. "So what did Dachande want?" She clicked before covering her mouth for a yawn. Vk'leita frowned at the subject, hoping to avoid it all together. "It was about me joining his new ship." Vk'leita said. Helena yawned again and rested her chin on her palm. "Didn't you already accept it?" She asked. Vk'leita nodded. "_Sei-i_, I did. . .he gave me another offer." Helena rose an eyebrow at him and tilted her head. "Oh? What was it?" She asked. Vk'leita felt himself grow uncomfortable. "He offered me the position as his second in command."

Despite being uncomfortable about the topic, his couldn't help but be happy when she smiled at him. "That's great! So when do you start?" She asked.

Vk'leita's mandibles drooped to a frown. "I didn't." He said quietly. Helena sat up a little more and Vk'leita recognized the concerned look in her eyes. "Why not?" She asked, leaning one hand forward to clasp his. Vk'leita gladly took her hand as he explained to her what he had to Dachande, though skipping the visual parts he had added before.

Helena frowned as soon as he finished. "Vk'leita, I already forgave you for it." "I know, but I-" Vk'leita stared at her face, specifically the right side. In his mind, the bruise came back along the entire right side of her face and his stomach gave a squeeze at the visual. "I just. . .I just can't forgive myself." He quietly clicked.

Helena moved until she was sitting up, then leaned forward to pull him into a hug. An affectionate gesture common to humans, but not common to his kind.

So of course, he couldn't help but melt in her arms as soon as they circled him.

Vk'leita leaned against her and Helena held him tightly with one arm while the other stroked along the length of his spine, causing him to shiver. She kept doing this until she started rubbing his back. "Well," She said between strokes. "You kind of have one day to figure it out." She said.

"Dachande has offered to let me take the time that I need to figure it out." He clicked against her neck. Helena trilled her curiosity. "What will you do?" She asked. Vk'leita leaned up a little so he could see her while he spoke. "When we return to my world, I will visit the temple of Paya. I will receive guidance there. . .I hope." He let out a breath and leaned against her neck again. Helena continued to stroke his back as she thought to herself.  
"Will I be able to come with you to the temple?" She asked.

"Of course!" Vk'leita answered, happy she wanted to go with him.

Helena smiled and laid back down with him, both closing their eyes to the exhaustion they felt.

A nap was deeply needed.

* * *

Loud clanging and roaring could be heard from the **Kehrite** , though only two yautja occupied the room.

Lar'nix'va barely dodged Da'dtou-di's swing, distracted as he was by the attractive female's movements. His combistick came up to block her blow, but then her foot swept out and knocked him to the floor. In a flash, she had straddled him and was using her combistick to push his back and pin his hands underneath it. "I win." She grinned victoriously down at him.

Smirking up at her, Lar'nix'va used one last remaining cheat to get her off of him.

He managed to slip his hands from her pin and shot his claws forward, trailing the tips delicately up the sides of her belly until they stopped under her arms. Da'dtou-di let out the familiar squeal he craved to hear, and squirmed at the sudden sensation, which caused her arms to retract to protect her sides.

In a second, Lar'nix'va flipped them over so she was pinned beneath him instead. He grinned down at her as she huffed up at him. "That was cheap." She pouted. His grin grew wider. "But it works." He pointed out. Da'dtou-di rolled her eyes at him. "I'm going to have to kick Yeyinda for revealing that fact about us. It's no fair that none of you have tickle spots." She huffed. Lar'nix'va laughed and got up off of her. "The Witch didn't get rid of them and I'm glad she didn't." He smirked. Da'dtou-di rolled her eyes again and stood up. "Well maybe if I ask her nicely, she'll give you some spots for me to torment as well." She smirked.

Lar'nix'va gulped. He had a feeling that the Witch really would do that if she asked her.

Before they knew it, the alarm chimed out. The signal for the yautja assigned to nightshift rang in their hearing canals.  
Lar'nix'va turned his head and gave Da'dtou-di an almost desperate look. Today was their last day to see each other. In the morning, Da'dtou-di would leave with Dachande onto his home-world and eventually the new ship. He, Lar'nix'va, would be forced to stay behind until the unblooded's new instructor would board this ship.

This was the last moment they would get to see each other.

He felt a twist in his stomach. He didn't want her to go. Not when he was just barely making progress with her. She was even close to coming around to forgiving him, he could feel it!

Da'dtou-di sighed and stood up from her spot on the ground. "Shorty, we better go to bed." She clicked as she turned to leave. Lar'nix'va grew desperate not to see her go. "Wait!" He called out, heart thudding. Da'dtou-di paused, so Lar'nix'va jogged to catch up to her. He pinched his mandibles together before opening his mouth. "Before you go, you should know my name." He said.

Da'dtou-di turned and tilted her head curiously as him as he took a breath to answer. "My real name is Lar'nix'va. . .though you can still call me Shorty if you feel I deserve it." He bowed his head and looked at the ground awkwardly. He heard her move her feet and assumed she had gone to leave the room, not finding his real name worth sticking around for.

Then to his surprise, he felt her hand under his chin and gentle pressure caused him to look up at her.

She was smiling at him.

"Mine is Machiko." She said before pressing her forehead to his for a moment. Lar'nix'va didn't have time to process the affectionate gesture before she turned to leave.

He promised to remember her name until the next time they met.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

**-Sei-i: Yes**

**-Kehrite: Dojo/training room.**

_Happy Valentine's day! Both to everyone single(including me) and taken._

_This is the official end of part two. Part three starts next chapter with an explanation (as usual) and a time skip._

_I hope to see you all there!_


	32. (Part 3)In Which an Explanation is Given

Part 3 does not take place in any of the AvP novels. It has diverted from the canon plotline of those novels.

Anyway, here's a summary.

* * *

Machiko and Helena have dealt with a lot, but now comes some of the hardest trials they'll have to face together.  
If being accepted into a new species wasn't enough, now there's the domestic life they have to navigate amongst the yautja. Turns out it's not so easy trying to survive a lifestyle and culture as brutal as the yautja's.

On top of that, the greatest trial of them all.

Pups!


	33. Chapter28 In Which They Unite

Lar'nix'va felt the nervous beating in his heart increase as he looked at Dachande's ship.

He hadn't seen the elder yautja in two years and now he was expected to walk up the ramp to join him, as well as some other yautja Dachande had recruited to join his clan ship. It wasn't Dachande he was nervous about meeting though.

Lar'nix'va shifted and the trophy bag at his hip thudded against his thigh, reminding him of his real goal.

Finally getting Da'dtou-di's- no, Machiko's forgiveness.

He sucked in a breath and started walking forward.  
They had left on good terms, but Lar'nix'va knew Machiko still held some resentment towards him. It was something he was aching to resolve and move forward with her.

Would she remember that his name was Lar'nix'va? Or has she gone on so many hunts and adventures that she forgot about him completely? Or worse, had she found someone more worthy to be her mate than him?!

All these worries had plagued him for two years and today he would finally have to face them.

Taking another breath in an effort to calm himself, Lar'nix'va began to walk up the ramp with the other yautja.

First he had to meet with Dachande.

* * *

Machiko leisurely strolled down the halls of the ship, looking for the usual meeting place she and Helena would convene at.

The other yautja in the hallway ignored her; her once irritating celebrity status among them now gone.

When she and Helena had first arrived on the ship, news had spread of them to the other yautja Dachande had invited on board. Not because they were once human. That fact had been kept quiet for now. It was their odd looks that gained their attention.

Helena stuck out like a sore thumb. Being 11 feet tall, she towered over the other yautja, and even had to have a bed custom made for her height. A very, very rare few yautja matched her height, and they were far and wide in the galaxy somewhere.  
Machiko, meanwhile, was little more subtle in the looks, but they were recognizable once you took a moment to look at her. Her eyes had the ends pinched like her human ones did, and the color patterns along her body were a little more artful looking than most. The white of her front turned into swirls that connected with the blue coloring of the rest of her body.

These features gave other yautja pause whenever they looked at the women, not including their natural sexual appeal. Thankfully though, these wonder-filled looks simmered down to just cursory glances once they found out that Helena was taken and Machiko. . .was still the Ice Queen.

The woman still found it hard to connect to other beings, even ones as hard wired as yautja. To her surprise, she found them to be a lot more social than she thought a race like theirs would be. Her time with the unbloodeds gave her the impression that it was almost always duty they performed, except for the times she was being ostracized.

Oh right, that was all the time.

Machiko let out a quiet huff.  
Well, they didn't matter. She had Helena. . .well, had her when she wasn't spending time with Topknot. Which wasn't much time anymore, but the woman still made an effort to dedicate time to Machiko when she could. Helena was still training as a healer, and Machiko found herself leading groups of hunters alongside Dachande whenever a hunt came up.

Thanks to her last hunting incident on the ship full of unbloodeds, she made sure to know ALL of a new planet's wildlife before going on a hunt there.

Turning a corner, Machiko finally spotted Helena and felt a moment of relief at the sight of her. Walking a little more briskly, Machiko pulled up short to Helena, only to find the taller woman looking very disturbed about something. Machiko cocked her head at her friend and trilled a greeting.  
"What's got you so wound up?" She asked after the greeting was returned. Helena frowned and looked at the floor as her big toe carved a path in floor as she contemplated what to say.

"The head healer here wants to give me a crash course on babies." She finally said.

Machiko's head tilted again. "Isn't that a good thing? Helping others with their babies is part of your job, isn't it?"  
Helena shook her head. "Not other yautja's babies. . .my own. . ." She quietly said. Machiko gapped at her. "Wait! You and Topknot-you're pregnant?!" "**M-di**!" Helena quickly replied with wide eyes. "We've never had sex! The healer just thought that we were getting there soon and decided I should start learning about them."

Machiko rose an eyebrow at her. "Well? Aren't you two getting there?"

Helena fidgeted nervously on the spot. "**Sei-i** and _m-di_. I'm just. . .we haven't discussed it yet, and I don't know if I'm ready to have another kid. We haven't even been officially declared as mates, according to Topknot."  
"What do you mean? I'm pretty sure it's obvious you two only have eyes for each other." Machiko replied curiously. Helena shook her head. "They have their own version of marriage here. It's nothing like ours, but until it happens, we're not considered official mates. According to their culture, we're still courting each other."

"Well you kind of are." Machiko snickered. Helena chuckled as well and the pair of them made their way to the ship's 'dining room' area.

Even though the fact that Helena and Machiko used to be human was kept hidden, it was no secret that Helena was Topknot's **bhu'ja jehdin**. Vk'leita, as he was known on the ship, was very territorial over her the first couple of days they had been on board, and battled anyone who challenged him over the right to court her. Once it was known that she was his _bhu'ja jehdin_ however, those challenges stopped.  
Machiko, however, had to deal with the awkward courting attempts herself.

It was not known that she had a _bhu'ja jehdin_ of her own. She hadn't revealed to anyone who her intended mate was and neither did the few other yautja who knew already.  
When the courting attempts started, Machiko had reverted back to her old Ice Queen self, effectively driving off any further attempts made to court her by the males on the ship. Only the knew ones who joined Dachande's ship every so often made attempts at her, and they quickly learned why she wasn't taken yet by anyone.

Speaking of new yautja.

"You going to the greeting ceremony?" Helena asked as they began to grab their lunch. Machiko shook her head vigourously and plucked up a strange looking fruit before biting into it. "They're all the same to me." She clicked around a mouthful. "I don't see the need to keep greeting the newbies here."  
Helena chuckled and picked up a weird looking piece of jerky before biting into it. "You were new once too." She pointed out.

Machiko remembered how years ago, she had become the overseer of an entire planet. consequently leading her to her current position on Dachande's ship now.

"Paya, that was so long ago." Machiko clicked as she picked up a piece of the jerky as well. "I feel old!"  
At this, Helena let out a hearty laugh and nearly doubled over. "We don't age like we used to!" She chortled. "You're nowhere near old now!" Even Machiko had to laugh at this. "Yeah, but my sense of time is still linked with my old self." She pointed out. Helena nodded in understanding. "I get what you mean. I feel like my life's nearly spent as well, even though it's nowhere near close to being over now."

"It feels surreal." Machiko admitted. Helena nodded in agreement.

"Sei-i, it does."

* * *

Dachande smiled at Lar'nix'va as the blooded yautja approached him.

He was the last yautja to be introduced to the crowd; the others having already approached Dachande and paying their respects to him. Lar'nix'va did his respectful bow that was custom when greeting an elder, and Dachande placed his fist over his heart to acknowledge the greeting. Once the greeting was over, Lar'nix'va didn't bother to hide his anxious look. "How is she?" He asked. Dachande tilted his head. "Da'dtou-di?" Lar'nix'va nodded his head and Dachande's smile slightly faded. "Walk with me." He finally responded.

Lar'nix'va's heart beat rose in alarm but he silently followed Dachande out of the room as the other new yautja got themselves acquainted with the ship.

Dachande remained silent for some time as Lar'nix'va picked up his pace to keep up with him. Two years and he had maybe grown an inch or two taller. To say he was pissed by this development was an understatement.  
But he had proven himself in his **Chiva** and that's all that mattered. His trophy skull even hung from his bag at his hip. No one could claim he was a failure now.

Dachande suddenly spoke up, breaking his train of thought.

"Da'dtou-di hides it from others well, but I can see it clearly. She is lonely in this place." Lar'nix'va frowned at this news and looked at Dachande from the side. "Does Yeyinda not take care of her?" He asked, almost accusatory. Dachance refused to react. "Yeyinda and Vk'leita are busy trying to start their own lives as mates. While the two woman do spend time together, Yeyinda can not be there for her always. Da'dtou-di has been patient with this fact, but I can see that it still puts a strain on her." Lar'nix'va felt his stomach turn as they walked. "And. . .Da'dtou-di has not taken anyone else?" He slowly clicked.

Dachande let out an undignified snort and shook his head. "_M-di_, she refuses them all. Many have attempted to court her. All have failed and have eventually given up."

A small sense of happiness overcame Lar'nix'va before it was replaced by doubt. "Does. . .does she remember me?" Dachande let out a shrug, not one to soften the blow. "I do not know. She has never mentioned you, though we have not socialized as much as we used to. . .and Da'dtou-di isn't one to let her loneliness show. I think she has even Yeyinda fooled into thinking she's fine."  
This did nothing to keep Lar'nix'va from worrying. If anything, his nervousness increased.

Dachande suddenly stopped before a door and motioned at it with his hand. "She's in there."

Lar'nix'va stared at the door for a moment before steeling himself. He had to do this. There was no soft way around this.  
Holding his breath, Lar'nix'va pushed open the door and walked inside.

Several yautja were scattered around the room, and at first glance, Lar'nix'va could tell this was the **kehrite**. Weapons lay on the floor in surprisingly neat rows, and the training sticks used for unbloodeds were nowhere in sight. The pits that individual spars were held in were all occupied, and as Lar'nix'va searched, he spotted Machiko and Yeyinda sparing in one of them.

His heart thumped anxiously at the sight of her.

She was still as beautiful as he remembered, and had clearly grown stronger as well. She was even holding her own against Yeyinda a little.  
Clamping his mandibles together, Lar'nix'va took one step in her direction and then another. His walking slowly sped up until he reached the edge of her training pit and stopped. It took Machiko a moment to notice he was there, and when she did, she nearly got clocked in the jaw by Yeyinda from suddenly stopping.

"Lar'nix'va?" Machiko breathed his name. A shiver went through his body at the sound of his name leaving her mouth. She hadn't forgotten him!

Helena stopped her incoming punch and both women turned to watch Lar'nix'va enter the pit at a slow pace. He approached Machiko, eyes only for her, before suddenly reaching into the netted bag by his side and pulling out a skull that was clearly a **kiande amedha's**. Once it was out, Lar'nix'va got on his knees before Machiko and bowed his head as he presented the skull to her.  
Machiko gapped at him as Lar'nix'va suddenly spoke softly enough that only she and Helena could hear.

"Machiko, I Lar'nix'va bow before you and ask for your forgiveness for my past actions." Then he barely tilted his head up enough to look at her. "How I treated you was wrong and incredibly shameful of me. I had no right or reason to do so and I see the error of my mistakes now. I promise," His body began to shake as he spoke. "I will never treat you like that again. I will never raise my hand to strike you again and I promise that from now on, my focus will be on you and your needs. Please," The shaking was getting worse now as his eyes gave her a desperate look before bowing his head again. "please forgive me!"

The entire kehrite came to a slow stop as the surrounding yautja paused their fighting to stare.

A yautja presenting a skull to another yautja meant only one thing. You had done something horrible enough that it required you to part with a precious trophy to show your repentance. And this small yautja was giving a female his Chiva trophy!

What had he done to her?!

Machiko clamped her mandibles together and kneeled down on the floor in front of Lar'nix'va as he kept his head bowed. Reaching out, she gently took the skull in her hands and then set it down beside her. Lar'nix'va looked up to give her a questioning look before suddenly finding himself incased in a tight hug from the woman who held his happiness in the palm of her hand. His heart thumped in surprise as Machiko squeezed him closer to her.

"I forgave you a long time ago." She softly clicked, loud enough for him to hear.

Lar'nix'va released the breath he had been holding and then wrapped his own arms around her as his body sagged from the tense pose he had been holding. He buried his face into the side of her neck and breathed her in as joy flooded his chest and his heart now thudded from the happiness he was feeling.

The rest of the yautja around the room stared at the strange scene, shocked that Da'dtou-di was actually showing affection, much less to a yautja as short as him! Then they heard a grunt from Dachande and looked to find the elder yautja giving them a silent signal to leave the room. Slowly, the crowd filed out, leaving Machiko and Lar'nix'va to have their private moment they needed. Even Helena left the room, sharing a look with Dachande on the way out.

These two had a lot of catching up to do.

* * *

Vk'leita was busy tidying up the room when he felt two familiar arms wrap around his shoulders and a beautiful face press against the side of his neck affectionately.

His heart thumped in surprise, proud of how stealthy she was becoming. He felt one of her mandibles trail slowly up the back of his neck and he shivered at the contact. She did it again before pressing herself closer to his back. "Lar'nix'va has returned." She declared against the side of his neck as her hands trailed patterns down the muscle lines of his arms. "Uh huh." He mumbled, dazed by the sensation her body was causing his. Helena smiled behind him and began to run her claw tips down his pecs and abs instead. "Do anything fun today?" She purred, trailing her claws over the curve of his hips. Vk'leita shivered and tried to focus enough to answer her. "I. . .I. . ." It wasn't working.

Smiling, Helena finally ended his torture and stepped away from his body, shocking him with the sudden loss of physical contact.

He turned and opened his arms back up for a hug from her and she laughed before complying. She snuggled into his arms, and this time, Vk'leita tried to be more focused. "Lar'nix'va is back?" He asked. Helena nodded and rested her chin on top of his head. "_Sei-i_, and he's with Da'dtou-di now. He even gave her one of his trophies to say he was sorry."

Vk'leita froze when he heard this and looked up at her with a frown. Helena tilted her head curiously at him. "What's wrong?" She asked. Vk'leita's frown deepened and then he stepped away from her. "It seems I forgot to do something." He softly clicked before turning and quickly going into the room that was their shared trophy room. Helena stared after him, worried about his sudden departure.

When he came back however, it was with a skull in his hands.

Helena realized what he was doing. "Vk'leita don't! I don't need your trophy, I've already forgiven you." He still approached her with it held out. "I know you don't need it," He softly clicked. "but my culture and my honor demand I do it. I'm an idiot for forgetting to do this in the first place." Helena frowned at him. "Topknot," She clicked his nickname quietly. "I was angry at you at the time, enough that I probably would have broken it on the spot. It's a good thing you didn't give it to me then."

Vk'leita got down on his knees and still held the trophy out to her and Helena let out a quiet sigh before taking it. "This feels too much like a marriage proposal." She muttered loud enough for him to hear.

Now Vk'leita was the one tilting his head at her. "Marriage proposal? That's not how we propose at all." Helena blinked for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "_M-di_! It's how humans propose. Normally the male gets down on one knee and offers the female a ring while asking her to marry him." "A ring?" "_Sei-i_, usually something made of gold or silver with some sort of gem in it. If the woman accepts, she would wear it on her finger to show she was engaged." "Oh," Vk'leita clicked curiously before continuing. "Do you want me to make you a ring?" "_M-di_!" Helena giggled before looking at him again. "Wait, could you actually make a ring?" "_Sei-i,_" He replied. "we are taught to forge metals at a young age in case we need to fix our weapons or our ships." "Handy." Helena smiled. "But no, you don't need to make me a ring. I have no need for one."

Vk'leita tilted his head at her. "Are you sure?" He asked. Helena nodded. "_Sei-i_, I'll be perfectly fine without a ring. It's not some sort of essential tradition, after all."

Vk'leita reached out and gently grasped her by her hips. Lifting her up, he held her close and carried her to the bed.  
When Vk'leita first started doing this, Helena would squirm out of his hold until he'd let go. She had been self-conscious about her weight and felt she'd be too heavy for him. He had since informed her that not only was her weight no burden to him, he enjoyed carrying her everywhere. Now she'd let him carry her as long as they were short distances.

Helena nuzzled the top of his head as they moved towards the bed. "Tired?" She asked. "Sei-i." He replied, already getting drowsy. "Long day."

"Same here," Helena informed him as he set her down on the bed and climbed in beside her. Helena opened her arms to cuddle as he gladly met her under the blanket. "I had our healer try to teach me about pups today." She informed him. Vk'leita paused his cuddling. "You too?" He asked. Helena tilted her head. "Sei-i. Did the healer try to teach you about pups like he did me?" Vk'leita shook his head. "M-di, he was just asking me if we were doing anything that would cause some pups to come." At this, Helena blushed and Vk'leita chuckled. "Don't worry, I told him we weren't."

Helena rolled her eyes. "We haven't even discussed having them yet!" She exclaimed.

Vk'leita curled his bottom mandibles before speaking. "Will we?" He asked, a little cautiously. "Talk about pups, eventually." Helena yawned and nodded her head at him before resting against the pillow. "Sei-i, we will. Just not when we're this tired."  
She heard him let out a breath of relief before giving a chuckle. "That's fine to me." He declared before snuggling up against her.

Helena let herself smile as she fell asleep.

* * *

_Author's note: Translation time!_

-**M-di**: No

-**Sei-i**: Yes

-**bhu'ja jehdin:** Spirit Spar. The yautja equivalent of a soul mate.

-**Chiva: **trial

-**kehrite: **dojo/training room

\- **kiande amedha**: hard meat (xenomorph)

_So I have to admit, I actually started writing this as soon as I had posted the last "chapter". I just never got around to finishing it._

_Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you to all of you who are still reading this. I'll see you all in the next chapter!_


	34. Chapter29 In Which They Court

With Lar'nix'va's return, the two women found themselves settling in to new routines once more.

Mainly Machiko, who now found her time consumed by Lar'nix'va's presence. His arrival was an awkward transition, namely with the decision of his living spaces. Though unspoken, the pair of them knew what dilemma they needed to discuss.  
For Lar'nix'va to get his own room or to move in with Machiko?

They waited until the ship had settled down for the night shift to start before finally discussing it.

"I think," Machiko started, for once feeling nervous herself. "it'd be best if we slept separately for now." Lar'nix'va tried to hide it, but Machiko spotted his crestfallen but resigned look. She quickly tried to explain herself. "It's not that I haven't forgiven you! Far from that! It's just, well. . . We're not dating yet and certainly not married-" "Dating?" Lar'nix'va asked curiously, relieved that it wasn't because she was angry with him.

Machiko nodded her crested head. "****Sei-i****, it's when. . .well, it's when two. . .yautjas dedicate time to get to know each other. With the goal of seeing if the other is a potential. . .I guess you could say 'mate'. This is a time to learn things about the other like favorite color, foods, habits, funny stories. . .just things like that." "Oh, so courting." Lar'nix'va replied.

Machiko nodded her head. "_Sei-i_, exactly!" Lar'nix'va cocked his head curiously. "But. . .aren't we courting now?" Machiko tapped her foot on the floor. "I wouldn't exactly call this a date." She said softly. "How do you do a. . .date. . .then?" Lar'nix'va asked. Machiko went to bite her lip before realizing she didn't have lips anymore. "A date is when two humans, or in this case, two yautja, set aside time from everything else to spend it with each other. They usually do some sort of activity together, like going to the movies or having dinner together. During those activities is when they can ask questions and get to know the other person."  
Lar'nix'va tilted his head at her. "What is a . . .****movie****?" He tried to pronounce the word. "I can understand dinner, but I don't know what the other one is." "It's a thing in the human world. I don't think you'd have it here." Machiko responded.

When she saw Lar'nix'va look a little crestfallen at this news, she tried to explain herself further.

She picked up her hunting mask and held it out to him. "You know how our masks record our hunts and other yautja can watch those hunts from a screen?" "Sei-i." Lar'nix'va nodded his head. Machiko set the mask down and gestured towards it. "A movie is like that. It's recorded events that other humans can watch from a screen. Except they're not all hunts, and not all of the events are real."

Lar'nix'va blinked at her in confusion. "Then how do you record what is not real?"

Machiko smiled at him. "Alright, you know how our gauntlets can somewhat control the masks?" Lar'nix'va once again nodded his head. "Well humans have that technology as well, but on a grandeur scale. They can alter what our form of "masks" see. Thanks to this, we can tell and retell stories so well, it can feel like you're actually there witnessing the story." "I think I understand. . ." Lar'nix'va declared, though his voice still held confusion in it. Machiko chuckled a little and shook her head. "If we ever visit my home planet, I'll show you what a movie is. It could be a date." She grinned.

Her smile was so warm, Lar'nix'va couldn't help but smile back. "I think I'd like that."

* * *

Vk'leita watched as Helena strutted down the hallway, on her way to their shared room.

Waiting until she walked past, Vk'leita snuck past her and made his way to Da'dtou-di's room. He needed her help with something and he wanted it to be a surprise for Helena, but at the same time Helena needed to know some things for the surprise to work.

Stopping at her door, Vk'leita raised his fist and gently knocked on the frame. For a second, no one responded, until a thud was heard from the other side. "Who is it?!" Da'dtou-di trilled out. "You still call me Topknot!" Vk'leita replied. He and Da'dtou-di still hadn't given each other their real names yet. Some shuffling was heard on the other side before the door opened and the women stared down at him from her superior height. "What do you need?" She asked politely. Vk'leita tried not to awkwardly look away. "I need some help with Helena." He replied. Machiko rose an eyebrow at him and tilted her head. "Are you two fighting?" She asked with surprising genuine concern. Vk'leita blinked at her and shook his head. "****M-di****. . .Why, did she say we were?" Now Machiko shook her head. "M-di, but I don't know what you'd need my help for otherwise."

"I'm planning something for her, but with our cultural differences, it won't make sense to her what I'm doing unless she already knew it." "And you want my help because?" "I need you to subtly explain my surprise to her without giving away that I'm planning to surprise her. That way she's not confused or weirded out by what I do."

Machiko huffed. "For Paya's sake Topknot, what is it you plan to do?!"

Now Vk'leita looked away nervously as if to check if anyone was listening. "I'm planning to ask her to marry me." Machiko blinked at him in surprise, so he took the moment to explain further. "Helena already explained to me how you ****oomans**** get married. With a metal ring and a big celebration. Well Yautja don't use metal rings, and there's not a giant celebration for the ceremony. I don't want her to be disapointed that weddings aren't as grand here as yours seem to be." He looked at the floor as he spoke, a little embarrassed about his request.

Machiko tapped her foot and shook her head. "You know, with her last experience of marriage, I think she'd like the fact that the celebration isn't going to be big." Shifting her weight, Machiko leaned against the door and folded her arms. "Ok, so explain to me. How does this all work?"

Vk'leita perked up at this news. "When a male of our race proposes, he hunts for the female." "Of course he does." Machiko chuckled. "Go on."  
"He hunts for her for the next twelve days. Each day, he has to bring back a kill that is edible to our kind, something she can eat. Each day, the kill also has to be larger than the last one." "That's a lot of meat for one female." Machiko commented. Vk'leita puffed out his chest in pride. "It's to prove that the male is a capable provider for her and future pups. The first day of hunting is small game, to show that he can provide enough just for her needs. The second day it gets bigger, to represent the first birth of pups and the need to provide even more. The same goes for each day afterwards. Each kill gets bigger to represent and show the males capabilities to provide for a growing family."

"That's. . .actually very sweet." Machiko admitted, a little shocked that they would apply deeper meaning to such a ritual. "Ok, so you hunt for her for twelve days. What happens after?"

"If she accepts the proposal, she will clean the meat from the bones. Whether she eats them that day or not is up to her. On the twelfth day, she returns the bones to him. These are now his trophies. Besides representing his skill in the hunt, they now represent his success on proving himself to a female." "And if she rejects the marriage proposal?" Machiko asked curiously. Vk'leita's face turned a little worried as he spoke next. "If she rejects it, then she burns the bones and brings the ashes back to his abode. This means she does not think he is worthy of her or his kills enough to keep the trophies."

"I see," Machiko tilted her head. "So moving on. She accepts the proposal and brings you the bones. What then?"

Vk'leita's smiled returned. "If she accepts it, they let their bearers and closest relatives know of the agreement. This also means introducing the one you've chosen to be with to your family as well. Then the pair go to Paya's temple and set a date with one of the Oracles to be sealed. The bearers of each partner wait outside to congratulate the sealed couple and then they move in to a chosen home together to start their lives."

"Wow, definitely a step down from the grandeur of a human wedding." Machiko shook her head and grinned. "She'll love it!"

"You think so?" Vk'leita clicked nervously. "Absolutely." She replied. "Though, the meeting the family thing will be one sided." Machiko watched curiously as Vk'leita looked a little sad at this news. "Are you disappointed you won't meet her parents?" "A little." Vk'leita surprisingly admitted. "Though I don't know if I'd be angry as soon as I see them for what they put her through, or if I'd be able to hold back my anger and thank them enough for bringing a wonderful woman into this world."

"Wow, you're just being sweet today." Machiko giggled. Vk'leita tilted his head. "I am?" "Sei-i." Machiko replied. "If you told Helena that directly to her face, or even her parent's faces, they would definitely consider that not only sweet, but honorable of you." ". . .Do your men not thank the bearer's for their mates?" Vk'leita asked with a raised eyebrow. Machiko shrugged. "I guess it depends on the guy. I've never actually seen one do it."

Vk'leita frowned at this. "How. . .disappointing." "You're telling me." Machiko shrugged and stood up from the doorframe.

"Anyway, you want me to tell all of this to her without giving away that you're about to propose to her?" "Sei-i," Vk'leita nodded. "if you can." Machiko tapped her talons on her arm. "I'll think of something." She promised. "Thank you, Da'dtou-di." Topknot gave her a deep bow at the waist, which Machiko had to fight hard not to return. He gave her a weird look the last time she returned a bow.

With that, Vk'leita turned on his heel and left to return to Helena's side.

* * *

That night when dinner time came around, Machiko made her way to the mess hall to find Helena before she could grab herself something to eat. She had an idea of what she could do to prepare Helena for Topknot's proposal.

Spotting the overly tall woman in the crowd, Machiko made her way over and tapped on Helena's thigh, plastering an urgent look on her face. Helena looked down at her and clicked curiously as Machiko pretended to urgently sign to her, "follow, quick" in yautja sign language. Curious and a little worried, Helena followed her friend out of the mess hall and into a secluded hallway where Machiko rounded on her.

"Helena, you've got to help me! I think Shorty is planning to propose soon!"

Helena stared at her with wide eyes. "Are you sure?" She asked. Machiko kept the worried look on her face as she made a 'so-so' motion with her hand. "Earlier today he was acting a little strange and talking with Topknot when they thought I wasn't looking. Then Topknot approached me today and asked if I knew how yautjan marriage and proposals worked. When I told him M-di, he went into detail about how a yautja male goes about proposing to a female and what I was supposed to do in return if I accepted or rejected the proposal. He kind of gave off an attitude like he was certain I was going to get married soon. Helena, what should I do?! It's too damn soon to be getting married, but I don't want to blatantly reject him!"

At Helena's shocked and horrified look, Machiko quietly thought to celebrate her acting skills later. She never new she had it in her.

Helena raised her hands to instinctually calm her friend. "Ok hold on. Let's take this one step at a time. You said he's going to propose to you soon. What's the first sign we should look out for?" Machiko stippled her fingers together and pretended to look nervous. Then she went on to explain what Topknot told her about how marriage proposals work and how to reject or accept the male. She even went on to explain what the representation of each hunt for the twelve days meant. Helena stared at her once she was done explaining. "You know, I really wasn't expecting that." "I know!" Machiko exclaimed, this time her reaction being genuine. "I even thought it was pretty sweet, how each day was supposed to represent a growing family. But I don't want Shorty putting in all of this effort when it's too soon to even be thinking about that." Machiko pretended to act panicky about it and Helena did the dutiful part as her best friend to calm her down.

"Ok, ok, calm down for a second. Machiko, breath! We don't know for sure if Shorty is going to propose yet. Maybe Topknot was just telling you for the far future?" At Machiko's unconvinced look, Helena tried a different tactic. "How about this. If we find a fresh small kill by your door in the coming days, I'll go talk to him and explain how humans need time to court each other before jumping into a marriage. Does that sound like a plan?"

Machiko pretended to calm her breathing down and nodded her head at Helena. "Sei-i. Sei-i, that sounds good." Then she hugged her friend. "Thank you, Helena." Helena hugged her back awkwardly due to their height difference. "Anytime." She promised.

They were interrupted by a throat clearing behind them.

Looking over her shoulder, Machiko felt her heart drop as she saw Lar'nix'va standing there with two bowls in his hands. He looked awkwardly at the two before opening his mouth. "Is it alright if I enjoy her company for a bit?" He gestured towards Machiko.  
Keeping up with her acting, Machiko turned her head from Lar'nix'va and gave Helena a worried look. Helena returned her look with a concerned frown and quietly clicked "you can do this" before looking at Shorty. "Sei-i, she's all yours."

Helena released Machiko and walked past Shorty back out into the mess hall, leaving the pair alone.

Lar'nix'va gave Machiko a bewildered look as he approached her. "What was that about?" He asked. Machiko shook her head. "I'll explain after we eat. It will take a whil-what do you have there?" She gestured at his two bowls. Lar'nix'va looked away sheepishly and Machiko was surprised to find his mandibles tinting green with a blush.  
"I remembered what you told me about these "dates" oomans have, and how you said dinner was one of the things they did together on one of them." He held out one of the bowls to her. "So I was wondering if maybe, you know. . .we could call this a 'date. . .If I'm doing this correctly, anyway." His blush darkened.

Machiko, moved by his efforts, took the bowl and smiled softly at him. "Sei-i, you're doing it perfectly. And sei-i, I would enjoy calling this our first date." She took his now freed hand and squeezed it. "Let's go sit down somewhere and eat."

Lar'nix'va's head whipped up in surprise that she accepted his idea and gave an almost giddy grin as he followed her out of the hallway and to a more private place to have their "date".

* * *

****Author's notes:****

****I'm not going to bother with a translation for this chapter, since it's pretty obvious what each character is saying.  
First I'd like to say, I'm sorry this chapter is short. I'm writing this late at night because I procrastinated the entire day on getting it done.****

****Secondly, I'm sorry for how late this chapter came. It's been what, close to three months since I last updated?****

****I would like to clarify, no, I am not losing interest in this story. This chapter is extremely late because, about two months ago, my area suffered an earthquake that caused piping to break above my room and severe water damage to one of my walls. For the past month, I've been living outside of my room while that got fixed. Then another, unrelated problem happened which caused even more damage to my room and we just barely got the problem identified enough to stop more damage from spreading.****

****My room is still not completely fixed, but it is livable enough that I have finally moved back in. So until my room is completely fixed, chapters might be coming out slower than usual (not three months in between, but maybe once a month if I'm lucky).****

****Thank you all for your patience and your diligence to keep reading this story. I hope you're enjoying it!****


	35. Chapter30 In Which He Proposes

Dachande stared at Vk'leita as the younger male bowed his head in respect. "You wish to leave the ship for 13 sun cycles?" "Sei-i," Vk'leita replied. "I think you know why."

Dachande couldn't help but grin. "It's about time you proposed to her! Why did you take so long to decide this?" Vk'leita raised his head to look at Dachande as he spoke. "I knew Helena would not accept it as long as Da'dtou-di would be here by herself. I was waiting for Lar'nix'va's arrival so the other woman would not be alone. Now that he's here, I believe Helena is ready to start a life with me. . .at least, I hope she is." Doubt crept in to his voice at the last minute, and Dachande shook his head. "A wise choice." He complimented. "I agree, Helena would have no doubt stayed here to be with her friend."

Dachande opened up a panel in his desk that shot a metal frame out of the top. Once the frame was locked in place, he pressed another button and holographic imagery began to fill the frame. Yautjan writing and numbers filled the holographic screen as Dachande began to press the tips of his claws to the writing in the frame.  
"I'll have the ship-masters send a personal vessel to dock here by tonight. Be ready to go in the morning."

Vk'leita crossed his right arm over his chest and lightly bowed towards his leader. "Thank you, Dachande." He clicked.

Dachande couldn't help but smirk at him. "Helena will ask where you have gone. Tell her I sent you on a hunt that I trusted only you to succeed on." "I will." Vk'leita turned his head and prepared to go when Dachande stopped him. "Vk'leita, one last thing. Don't make her panic. She wants you alive more than she wants your proof as a capable hunter."

Vk'leita thanked him once more and left.

* * *

Vk'leita found Helena already in bed by the time he returned to their room.

Gently creeping over, Vk'leita sat down on the edge of the bed and pressed the palm of his hand to the spine of her back, gently rubbing up and down along the dip. Helena shivered at his touch and Vk'leita smiled at her when she cracked an eye open at him. "It's just me." He softly clicked, bending over and pressing his mandibles to her forehead. Helena yawned and sat up, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?" She asked, getting ready to get out of bed. Vk'leita stopped her.

"It's still night." He softly clicked again. "Sorry for waking you." Helena yawned again and settled back down in the bed. Vk'leita bent down and pressed his forehead to hers. "I just wanted to tell you that Dachande is sending me on a hunt in the morning. I'll be packing tonight. I'll try to be quiet so you can go back to sleep." He promised.

Helena pressed her forehead more firmly to his and let out a purr. "Be safe when you go." She clicked, reaching down and squeezing his hand. Vk'leita purred back and nuzzled her neck. "I'll be back before you know it."

"You better." Helena smiled with her eyes closed.

Vk'leita reluctantly let go of her hand and began to go around the room, collecting the things he would need.

* * *

Helena woke up that morning to find Vk'leita gone already.

Saddened that she didn't get to say goodbye, she went about prepping herself for the day ahead instead. Mainly going down to the healers' bay and learning everything she could from them. She'd stop by Machiko's on the way and greet her good morning.

Knocking on her friend's door, Helena waited while Machiko got dressed on the other side. "Come in!" Machiko called. Helena let herself in and found her friend strapping on her top. Machiko took one look at Helena and tilted her head. "You look sad." She commented. Helena shrugged and closed the door behind her. "Just didn't get to say goodbye to Topknot, that's all." "He left?" Machiko asked curiously. "_Sei-i_, this morning. Dachande apparently sent him on a hunt." "When's he coming back?" Machiko asked as she finished with the fiddly straps on her top.

"He didn't say and I forgot to ask. He told me about it last night when I was half asleep. I'll have to ask Dachande later." Helena shrugged and stretched her arms above her head.

Machiko picked up her spear from her bedside and turned toward Helena. "That will have to be later then. Don't you have lessons with the healers?" "_Sei-i._" Helena responded as she finished her stretch. "And I believe you have lessons with the spear master." She grinned. Machiko nodded. "Sei-i, I do. Shorty is going to be joining me today as well." "Don't get too distracted by him." Helena teased. Machiko rolled her eyes but grinned. "No promises. His butt has been looking nicer these days." She joked.

Both women chuckled and left the room for the day.

The day passed and Helena was getting ready to head to bed when there was a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in!" Helena called as she slipped her top back on. When no one entered, Helena turned and cocked her head at the door curiously. Pressing the button on the side of the wall, she watched the door slide open and saw no one on the other side.

But she did see a dead animal resting on a piece of fabric on the floor.

Approaching with caution, Helena bent down and inspected the animal. No note was attached to it, and by it's clean look, it wasn't there as some sort of twisted message for her. From the smell, it was fresh as well.

Gingerly picking up the mysterious animal, Helena stared down at the fabric underneath and saw Vk'leita's symbol printed on it.  
It took her a second, but Helena remembered the talk she had with Machiko the day before during dinner. About how Yautja proposed with 'food' for twelve days and that Machiko thought Shorty was going to propose to her soon. That little liar!

'_Machiko, Vk'leita! You twerps!_' Helena thought to herself with a grin.

Gingerly picking up the animal, Helena carried it inside and closed the door behind her, forgetting the cloth on the floor in her sudden moment of realization about the animal's purpose.

From down the hall, Vk'leita peaked his head around the corner and smiled to himself.  
The first hunt was done. Now he needed to immediately go back to his ship for the next day. But first, his offering cloth.

Silently running down the hall, Vk'leita picked up the cloth piece and folded it up before running back down the hall again and sneaking away into the night.

* * *

The next twelve days, Helena eagerly awaited whatever animal Vk'leita would bring for her next each night. Not only was the whole proposal process exciting, but seeing each new species of animal was a fun experience. Thanks to her gauntlet, all she had to do was take a 'picture' of the animal and their archives would immediately pull up what species it was. It also listed if the creature was edible, and how to skin and carve it. Helena would forgo her lessons with the healers those days and just focus on carefully removing the meat from the bones and preserving both either in the yautja version of a fridge, or up on her wall. She had her own personal fridge as well, thanks to Dachande pulling some strings for her and Machiko.

The animals were getting bigger by the day, however, and it was getting harder to store all of the meat. She definitely couldn't eat all of it by herself.

The bones were another issue. After talking with Dachande, she learned that she only had to return the skulls to Vk'leita if she accepted the proposal. That cleared up some space in her room, but still left her with fairly large skulls to maneuver with.

When the twelfth day came, Helena found the biggest animal yet waiting outside her door. It looked like an elephant, but had horns like a Rhino's going up its trunk. And she didn't think it had any eyes.  
Heaving the creature inside, Helena slammed the door shut and placed her hands on her hips. Her fridge was already full, and her wall couldn't hold a skull as large as this one, since it was crowded up by the others.

Suddenly, an idea came to her.

Pulling up her gauntlet, Helena made a call to Dachande and waited. When he received her call on the other end, Helena wasted no time, despite the tired look in his eyes. "Dachande, it's been twelve days. Is he back yet or did he leave on his ship again?" Dachande blinked tired eyes at her before replying. "_Sei-i_, he's back. The ship he borrowed has already been sent back to the ship masters. He told me he was going to be taking a bath before finally returning to your room."

"That's all I needed to hear, thank you." Helena ended the call and got up.

Looks like she was going to be taking a bath as well.

* * *

When Vk'leita had returned to the mother ship, he had immediately delivered the animal and left to take a bath. As much as he wanted to see her, he didn't want her cringing at his smell. That and he was slightly procrastinating his return, because he knew that as soon as he did, he was going to get his answer of whether she accepted his proposal or not.

The bath had been empty when he had entered, thankfully.

Now in the middle of scrubbing his arms, he suddenly found out that it was no longer just him in there.

Vk'leita found himself being pulled back by two long arms. The arms wrapped around his chest and pressed him to a firm yet soft body, his head resting between a pair of large, perky breasts. A rapid purring went on behind him as the smell of his Bhu'ja jehdin reached his senses. He didn't even hear her get in! Vk'leita felt himself relax as Helena bent her naked body around him. "I was wondering when you'd show yourself to me." She clicked, still purring at him. "I haven't seen you in twelve days." Vk'leita lifted his head and brushed his tusks under the bottom of her chin gently. Her purring picked up speed. "I am sorry about that." He clicked softly. "I guess I forgot to explain that the male is supposed to keep his whereabouts hidden during the twelve days."

Helena tilted her head curiously at him. "Why is that?" She asked. Vk'leita shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. I honestly think it has something to do with the fact that we've been hunting for twelve days straight and wouldn't smell pleasant until afterwards." Helena chuckled at this and nuzzled his neck. "Well I'm glad you're back and whole." She softly clicked, pressing him closer against her. Vk'leita started his own purring and just enjoyed the moment of being in her arms before he let himself question anything.

After a while though, he couldn't take it. He had to know. "So. . ." He began, not knowing how to phrase his question. Helena smirked behind him. "So?" She replied, a hint of teasing in her voice. Vk'leita unwillingly gulped before continuing. "About my proposal-" "Ah, that." Helena interrupted, letting go of him and guiding his body to turn around and face her. At his nervous look, Helena couldn't help but softly smile at him.

"I will only accept your proposal on one condition." She held up a finger for emphasis. Vk'leita watched her anxiously as she let the ax drop. She grinned at him teasingly.

"You have to help me eat all of that meat. It's too much for me to eat alone."

Vk'leita stared at her in surprise. "So. . .the answer is _sei-i_?" Helena nodded her head at him. "_Sei-i_, it is." She held her arms out to him for a hug. Vk'leita couldn't help himself. He wrapped his arms around her hips and hoisted her up high, swinging her around joyously as he laughed. Helena giggled and wrapped her legs around him in return to keep her balance as she held on to his shoulders. Vk'leita pressed his head against her stomach when he finally slowed down. He rubbed her belly with his mandibles as he spoke. "You have no idea how happy you make me." He whispered to her. Helena bent down and pressed her forehead to his while holding the sides of his face. "Care to show me?" She purred seductively.

"I will show you for the rest of our lives and even after when we enter Paya's presence." Vk'leita promised, turning his face towards hers. "I will strive every day to make sure you're happy with me and the life I provide for us."

Moved by his promise, Helena lowered herself down to his level and wrapped her arms around him. "This is a team effort." She purred into his neck as he hugged her back. "So I'm going to be making sure you're happy with me too."

If Vk'leita had human lips, he would have kissed her right then.

* * *

When they were done bathing and had returned to their room, Vk'leita helped her skin and carve the last animal and even helped her set up a late night dinner in her room to help clear space in the 'fridge'.

Full from their two-person feast, they laid in bed together with their arms firmly wrapped around the other. As Helena snuggled against him, the pair looked over at the newly acquired skull still sitting in the middle of the room. "You know, women used to carve into the trophies before returning them to the males." Vk'leita commented, rubbing Helena's side as his mind drifted on the matter. Helena shifted against him before replying. "What would they carve?" She asked. Vk'leita shrugged. "No one knows. The practice died out a long time ago. The skulls that still have carvings on them are too faded now to tell what their carvings were."

Finding herself with another idea, Helena reached up and gently rubbed Vk'leita's chin with her thumb. "Mind if I bring the practice back?" She asked.

Eager to see what she would do, Vk'leita nodded and released her from his hold as she got up. Striding over to the skull, Helena took out a nearby hunter's knife and began to carve into the forehead of the animal. Vk'leita leaned over to try and peak at what she was writing. To his dismay, he realized she was carving in her human language, which he still couldn't read. "What does it say?" He asked once she was done and returned to his side. Helena grinned and pressed her forehead to his before replying. "That's for you to find out." She purred as she climbed back into the bed.

Vk'leita waited until she was asleep before getting up and scanning the carved words with his gauntlet. He might not know the human written language, but it was definitely logged into their archives.

Several minutes later, a translation finally came back to him and Vk'leita sucked in a breath of horrified shock as he read it.  
"I love you."

Oh no. . .

* * *

_Author's notes: Translation time!_

\- **Sei-i**: Yes.

-**Bhu'ja jehdin**: Spirit Spar (Yautja equivalent of a soulmate).

_Dun dun duh! Why is Vk'leita freaking out now? You won't know until the next chapter._

_See ya!_


End file.
